U.S. patent application number 17/483148 was filed with the patent office on 2022-03-24 for monitoring encrypted network traffic.
The applicant listed for this patent is ExtraHop Networks, Inc.. Invention is credited to Jeff James Costlow, John Gemignani, JR., Benjamin Thomas Higgins, Michael Kerber Krause Montague, Eric James Rongo, Xue Jun Wu.
Application Number | 20220094706 17/483148 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000005913301 |
Filed Date | 2022-03-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20220094706 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Higgins; Benjamin Thomas ;
et al. |
March 24, 2022 |
MONITORING ENCRYPTED NETWORK TRAFFIC
Abstract
Embodiments are directed to monitoring network traffic using
network monitoring computers (NMCs). Networks may be configured to
protect servers using centralized security protocols. Centralized
security protocols may depend on centralized control provided by
authentication control servers. If a client intends to access
protected servers it may communicate with the authentication
control server to obtain keys that enable it to access the
requested servers. NMCs may monitor network traffic the centralized
security protocol to collect metrics associated with the control
servers, clients, or resource servers.
Inventors: |
Higgins; Benjamin Thomas;
(Shoreline, WA) ; Costlow; Jeff James; (Kingston,
WA) ; Gemignani, JR.; John; (Bremerton, WA) ;
Montague; Michael Kerber Krause; (Lake Forest Park, WA)
; Rongo; Eric James; (Seattle, WA) ; Wu; Xue
Jun; (Seattle, WA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
ExtraHop Networks, Inc. |
Seattle |
WA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000005913301 |
Appl. No.: |
17/483148 |
Filed: |
September 23, 2021 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
63082262 |
Sep 23, 2020 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04L 9/0819 20130101;
H04L 43/0876 20130101; H04L 63/1425 20130101; H04L 63/0807
20130101; H04L 63/0428 20130101; H04L 43/062 20130101; H04L 63/0869
20130101; H04L 63/0209 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04L 29/06 20060101
H04L029/06; H04L 9/08 20060101 H04L009/08; H04L 12/26 20060101
H04L012/26 |
Claims
1. A method for monitoring communication over a network between one
or more computers, with one or more network monitoring computers
(NMCs) that perform actions, comprising: providing a control server
that distributes one or more client keys to the one or more
computers, wherein the one or more computers are one or more of a
client or a resource server; and in response to determining network
traffic associated with a request from the client to access the
resource server, performing further actions, including: monitoring
a first communication between the client and the control server
that authenticates the client with the control server and
authenticates the control server with the client, wherein a portion
of the first communication is encrypted with a client key
associated with the client, and wherein the client is provided an
authentication token associated with the control server; monitoring
a second communication between the client and the control server
that includes a request to access the resource server, wherein a
portion of the second communication is encrypted with one or more
of the client key or the authentication token, and wherein the
control server provides an access token to the client that enables
the client to access the resource server; monitoring other
communication between the client and the resource server that
includes the access token, wherein one or more portions of the
other communication are encrypted with one or more of the access
token or one or more other keys derived from one or more of the
access token or one or more other portions of the other
communication, and wherein the other communication enables the
client to access the resource server; generating one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with one or more of
the first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and generating one or more reports that include
information associated with one or more of the client, the resource
server, or the control server.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing the one or
more keys to the NMC; employing the one or more keys to decrypt one
or more portions of one or more of the first communication, the
second communication, or the other communication; and updating the
one or more metrics based on the one or more decrypted portions of
the one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: providing one or more
sharing agents to the one or more computers; determining one or
more of the client key, the authentication token, or the access
token based on information provided by the one or more sharing
agents; employing the one or more of the client key, the
authentication token, or the access token to decrypt one or more
portions of one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication; and updating the one or
more metrics based on the one or more decrypted portions of the one
or more of the first communication, the second communication, or
the other communication.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein monitoring the first
communication between the client and the control server further
comprises: generating a portion of the one or more metrics based on
one or more characteristics of the network traffic associated the
first communication, wherein the portion of the one or more metrics
is based on one or more non-encrypted portions of the network
traffic; generating a second portion of the one or more metrics
based on one or more other characteristics of the network traffic
associated the second communication, wherein the second portion of
the one or more metrics is based on one or more other non-encrypted
portions network traffic; and correlating the second communication
with the first communication based on the first portion of the one
or more metrics and the second portion of the one or more
metrics.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication, further comprises: determining one or more
characteristics associated with one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
based on one or more portions of non-encrypted network traffic,
wherein the one or more characteristics include one or more of time
of transmission, packet size, latency, source client, target
resource server, tuple information, or application protocol;
determining one or more anomalous characteristics based on one or
more values associated with the one or more characteristics,
wherein the one or more values exceed one or more threshold values
or violate one or more policies, and wherein the one or more
anomalous characteristics include one or more of anomalous amount
of time for a communication, an anomalous packet size, an anomalous
latency, an anomalous source client, an anomalous target resource
server, anomalous tuple information, or an anomalous application
protocol; and updating the one or more metrics based on the one or
more anomalous characteristics.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining one or
more application protocols employed for one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
based on one or more characteristics of the network traffic
associated with the one or more of the first communication, the
second communication, or the other communication; and generating
one or more portions of the one or more metrics based on one or
more portions of the first communication, the second communication,
or the other communication that are included in payload network
traffic associated with the one or more application protocols.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first communication, the
second communication, and the other communication conform to a
Kerberos authentication protocol.
8. A processor readable non-transitory storage media that includes
instructions for monitoring network traffic using one or more
network monitoring computers, wherein execution of the instructions
by the one or more networking monitoring computers perform the
method comprising: providing a control server that distributes one
or more client keys to the one or more computers, wherein the one
or more computers are one or more of a client or a resource server;
and in response to determining network traffic associated with a
request from the client to access the resource server, performing
further actions, including: monitoring a first communication
between the client and the control server that authenticates the
client with the control server and authenticates the control server
with the client, wherein a portion of the first communication is
encrypted with a client key associated with the client, and wherein
the client is provided an authentication token associated with the
control server; monitoring a second communication between the
client and the control server that includes a request to access the
resource server, wherein a portion of the second communication is
encrypted with one or more of the client key or the authentication
token, and wherein the control server provides an access token to
the client that enables the client to access the resource server;
monitoring other communication between the client and the resource
server that includes the access token, wherein one or more portions
of the other communication are encrypted with one or more of the
access token or one or more other keys derived from one or more of
the access token or one or more other portions of the other
communication, and wherein the other communication enables the
client to access the resource server; generating one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with one or more of
the first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and generating one or more reports that include
information associated with one or more of the client, the resource
server, or the control server.
9. The media of claim 8, further comprising: providing the one or
more keys to the NMC; employing the one or more keys to decrypt one
or more portions of one or more of the first communication, the
second communication, or the other communication; and updating the
one or more metrics based on the one or more decrypted portions of
the one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication.
10. The media of claim 8, further comprising: providing one or more
sharing agents to the one or more computers; determining one or
more of the client key, the authentication token, or the access
token based on information provided by the one or more sharing
agents; employing the one or more of the client key, the
authentication token, or the access token to decrypt one or more
portions of one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication; and updating the one or
more metrics based on the one or more decrypted portions of the one
or more of the first communication, the second communication, or
the other communication.
11. The media of claim 8, wherein monitoring the first
communication between the client and the control server further
comprises: generating a portion of the one or more metrics based on
one or more characteristics of the network traffic associated the
first communication, wherein the portion of the one or more metrics
is based on one or more non-encrypted portions of the network
traffic; generating a second portion of the one or more metrics
based on one or more other characteristics of the network traffic
associated the second communication, wherein the second portion of
the one or more metrics is based on one or more other non-encrypted
portions network traffic; and correlating the second communication
with the first communication based on the first portion of the one
or more metrics and the second portion of the one or more
metrics.
12. The media of claim 8, wherein generating the one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication, further comprises: determining one or more
characteristics associated with one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
based on one or more portions of non-encrypted network traffic,
wherein the one or more characteristics include one or more of time
of transmission, packet size, latency, source client, target
resource server, tuple information, or application protocol;
determining one or more anomalous characteristics based on one or
more values associated with the one or more characteristics,
wherein the one or more values exceed one or more threshold values
or violate one or more policies, and wherein the one or more
anomalous characteristics include one or more of anomalous amount
of time for a communication, an anomalous packet size, an anomalous
latency, an anomalous source client, an anomalous target resource
server, anomalous tuple information, or an anomalous application
protocol; and updating the one or more metrics based on the one or
more anomalous characteristics.
13. The media of claim 8, further comprising: determining one or
more application protocols employed for one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
based on one or more characteristics of the network traffic
associated with the one or more of the first communication, the
second communication, or the other communication; and generating
one or more portions of the one or more metrics based on one or
more portions of the first communication, the second communication,
or the other communication that are included in payload network
traffic associated with the one or more application protocols.
14. The media of claim 8, wherein the first communication, the
second communication, and the other communication conform to a
Kerberos authentication protocol.
15. A system for monitoring network traffic in a network: one or
more network monitoring computers (NMCs), comprising: a transceiver
that communicates over the network; a memory that stores at least
instructions; and one or more processors that execute instructions
that perform actions, including: providing a control server that
distributes one or more client keys to the one or more computers,
wherein the one or more computers are one or more of a client or a
resource server; and in response to determining network traffic
associated with a request from the client to access the resource
server, performing further actions, including: monitoring a first
communication between the client and the control server that
authenticates the client with the control server and authenticates
the control server with the client, wherein a portion of the first
communication is encrypted with a client key associated with the
client, and wherein the client is provided an authentication token
associated with the control server; monitoring a second
communication between the client and the control server that
includes a request to access the resource server, wherein a portion
of the second communication is encrypted with one or more of the
client key or the authentication token, and wherein the control
server provides an access token to the client that enables the
client to access the resource server; monitoring other
communication between the client and the resource server that
includes the access token, wherein one or more portions of the
other communication are encrypted with one or more of the access
token or one or more other keys derived from one or more of the
access token or one or more other portions of the other
communication, and wherein the other communication enables the
client to access the resource server; generating one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with one or more of
the first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and generating one or more reports that include
information associated with one or more of the client, the resource
server, or the control server; and one or more client computers,
comprising: a transceiver that communicates over the network; a
memory that stores at least instructions; and one or more
processors that execute instructions that perform actions,
including: providing at least a portion of one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more NMC processors
execute instructions that perform actions, further comprising:
providing the one or more keys to the NMC; employing the one or
more keys to decrypt one or more portions of one or more of the
first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and updating the one or more metrics based on the
one or more decrypted portions of the one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication.
17. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more NMC processors
execute instructions that perform actions, further comprising:
providing one or more sharing agents to the one or more computers;
determining one or more of the client key, the authentication
token, or the access token based on information provided by the one
or more sharing agents; employing the one or more of the client
key, the authentication token, or the access token to decrypt one
or more portions of one or more of the first communication, the
second communication, or the other communication; and updating the
one or more metrics based on the one or more decrypted portions of
the one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication.
18. The system of claim 15, wherein monitoring the first
communication between the client and the control server further
comprises: generating a portion of the one or more metrics based on
one or more characteristics of the network traffic associated the
first communication, wherein the portion of the one or more metrics
is based on one or more non-encrypted portions of the network
traffic; generating a second portion of the one or more metrics
based on one or more other characteristics of the network traffic
associated the second communication, wherein the second portion of
the one or more metrics is based on one or more other non-encrypted
portions network traffic; and correlating the second communication
with the first communication based on the first portion of the one
or more metrics and the second portion of the one or more
metrics.
19. The system of claim 15, wherein generating the one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication, further comprises: determining one or more
characteristics associated with one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
based on one or more portions of non-encrypted network traffic,
wherein the one or more characteristics include one or more of time
of transmission, packet size, latency, source client, target
resource server, tuple information, or application protocol;
determining one or more anomalous characteristics based on one or
more values associated with the one or more characteristics,
wherein the one or more values exceed one or more threshold values
or violate one or more policies, and wherein the one or more
anomalous characteristics include one or more of anomalous amount
of time for a communication, an anomalous packet size, an anomalous
latency, an anomalous source client, an anomalous target resource
server, anomalous tuple information, or an anomalous application
protocol; and updating the one or more metrics based on the one or
more anomalous characteristics.
20. The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more NMC processors
execute instructions that perform actions, further comprising:
determining one or more application protocols employed for one or
more of the first communication, the second communication, or the
other communication based on one or more characteristics of the
network traffic associated with the one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and generating one or more portions of the one or
more metrics based on one or more portions of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
that are included in payload network traffic associated with the
one or more application protocols.
21. The system of claim 15, wherein the first communication, the
second communication, and the other communication conform to a
Kerberos authentication protocol.
22. A network monitoring computer (NMC) for monitoring network
traffic between one or more computers, comprising: a transceiver
that communicates over the network; a memory that stores at least
instructions; and one or more processors that execute instructions
that perform actions, including: providing a control server that
distributes one or more client keys to the one or more computers,
wherein the one or more computers are one or more of a client or a
resource server; and in response to determining network traffic
associated with a request from the client to access the resource
server, performing further actions, including: monitoring a first
communication between the client and the control server that
authenticates the client with the control server and authenticates
the control server with the client, wherein a portion of the first
communication is encrypted with a client key associated with the
client, and wherein the client is provided an authentication token
associated with the control server; monitoring a second
communication between the client and the control server that
includes a request to access the resource server, wherein a portion
of the second communication is encrypted with one or more of the
client key or the authentication token, and wherein the control
server provides an access token to the client that enables the
client to access the resource server; monitoring other
communication between the client and the resource server that
includes the access token, wherein one or more portions of the
other communication are encrypted with one or more of the access
token or one or more other keys derived from one or more of the
access token or one or more other portions of the other
communication, and wherein the other communication enables the
client to access the resource server; generating one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with one or more of
the first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and generating one or more reports that include
information associated with one or more of the client, the resource
server, or the control server.
23. The NMC of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors execute
instructions that perform actions, further comprising: providing
the one or more keys to the NMC; employing the one or more keys to
decrypt one or more portions of one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; and updating the one or more metrics based on the
one or more decrypted portions of the one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication.
24. The NMC of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors execute
instructions that perform actions, further comprising: providing
one or more sharing agents to the one or more computers;
determining one or more of the client key, the authentication
token, or the access token based on information provided by the one
or more sharing agents; employing the one or more of the client
key, the authentication token, or the access token to decrypt one
or more portions of one or more of the first communication, the
second communication, or the other communication; and updating the
one or more metrics based on the one or more decrypted portions of
the one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication.
25. The NMC of claim 22, wherein monitoring the first communication
between the client and the control server further comprises:
generating a portion of the one or more metrics based on one or
more characteristics of the network traffic associated the first
communication, wherein the portion of the one or more metrics is
based on one or more non-encrypted portions of the network traffic;
generating a second portion of the one or more metrics based on one
or more other characteristics of the network traffic associated the
second communication, wherein the second portion of the one or more
metrics is based on one or more other non-encrypted portions
network traffic; and correlating the second communication with the
first communication based on the first portion of the one or more
metrics and the second portion of the one or more metrics.
26. The NMC of claim 22, wherein generating the one or more metrics
based on the network traffic associated with the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication, further comprises: determining one or more
characteristics associated with one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
based on one or more portions of non-encrypted network traffic,
wherein the one or more characteristics include one or more of time
of transmission, packet size, latency, source client, target
resource server, tuple information, or application protocol;
determining one or more anomalous characteristics based on one or
more values associated with the one or more characteristics,
wherein the one or more values exceed one or more threshold values
or violate one or more policies, and wherein the one or more
anomalous characteristics include one or more of anomalous amount
of time for a communication, an anomalous packet size, an anomalous
latency, an anomalous source client, an anomalous target resource
server, anomalous tuple information, or an anomalous application
protocol; and updating the one or more metrics based on the one or
more anomalous characteristics.
27. The NMC of claim 22, wherein the one or more processors execute
instructions that perform actions, further comprising: determining
one or more application protocols employed for one or more of the
first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication based on one or more characteristics of the network
traffic associated with the one or more of the first communication,
the second communication, or the other communication; and
generating one or more portions of the one or more metrics based on
one or more portions of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication that are included in
payload network traffic associated with the one or more application
protocols.
28. The NMC of claim 22, wherein the first communication, the
second communication, and the other communication conform to a
Kerberos authentication protocol.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application is a Utility patent application based on
previously filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/082,262
filed on Sep. 23, 2020, the benefit of the filing date of which is
hereby claimed under 35 U.S.C. .sctn. 119(e) and the contents of
which is further incorporated in entirety by reference.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present invention relates generally to network
monitoring, and more particularly, but not exclusively, to
monitoring networks in a distributed network monitoring
environment.
BACKGROUND
[0003] On most computer networks, bits of data arranged in bytes
are packaged into collections of bytes called packets. These
packets are generally communicated between computing devices over
networks in a wired or wireless manner. A suite of communication
protocols is typically employed to communicate between at least two
endpoints over one or more networks. The protocols are typically
layered on top of one another to form a protocol stack. One model
for a network communication protocol stack is the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) model, which defines seven layers of
different protocols that cooperatively enable communication over a
network. The OSI model layers are arranged in the following order:
Physical (1), Data Link (2), Network (3), Transport (4), Session
(5), Presentation (6), and Application (7).
[0004] Another model for a network communication protocol stack is
the Internet Protocol (IP) model, which is also known as the
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) model. The
TCP/IP model is similar to the OSI model except that it defines
four layers instead of seven. The TCP/IP model's four layers for
network communication protocol are arranged in the following order:
Link (1), Internet (2), Transport (3), and Application (4). To
reduce the number of layers from seven to four, the TCP/IP model
collapses the OSI model's Application, Presentation, and Session
layers into its Application layer. Also, the OSI's Physical layer
is either assumed or is collapsed into the TCP/IP model's Link
layer. Although some communication protocols may be listed at
different numbered or named layers of the TCP/IP model versus the
OSI model, both of these models describe stacks that include
basically the same protocols. For example, the TCP protocol is
listed on the fourth layer of the OSI model and on the third layer
of the TCP/IP model. To assess and troubleshoot communicated
packets and protocols over a network, different types of network
monitors can be employed. One type of network monitor, a "packet
sniffer" may be employed to generally monitor and record packets of
data as they are communicated over a network. Some packet sniffers
can display data included in each packet and provide statistics
regarding a monitored stream of packets. Also, some types of
network monitors are referred to as "protocol analyzers" in part
because they can provide additional analysis of monitored and
recorded packets regarding a type of network, communication
protocol, or application.
[0005] Generally, packet sniffers and protocol analyzers passively
monitor network traffic without participating in the communication
protocols. In some instances, they receive a copy of each packet on
a particular network segment or VLAN from one or more members of
the network segment. They may receive these packet copies through a
port mirror on a managed Ethernet switch, e.g., a Switched Port
Analyzer (SPAN) port, a Roving Analysis Port (RAP), or the like, or
combinations thereof. Port mirroring enables analysis and debugging
of network communications. Port mirroring can be performed for
inbound or outbound traffic (or both) on single or multiple
interfaces. In other instances, packet copies may be provided to
the network monitors from a specialized network tap or from a
software entity running on the client or server. In virtual
environments, port mirroring may be performed on a virtual switch
that is incorporated within the hypervisor.
[0006] In some instances, a proxy is actively arranged between two
endpoints, such as a client device and a server device. The proxy
intercepts each packet sent by each endpoint and optionally
transforms and forwards the payload to the other endpoint. Proxies
often enable a variety of additional services such as load
balancing, caching, content filtering, and access control. In some
instances, the proxy may operate as a network monitor. In other
instances, the proxy may forward a copy of the packets to a
separate network monitor.
[0007] In some networks, packet capture devices may be installed.
Packet capture devices may be arranged to capture and store network
packets for subsequent analysis. However, the sheer amount of data
communicated over networks may result in a prohibitively high
number of network packets. Accordingly, packets and/or portions of
packets may be selectively captured to reduce data storage
requirements. In addition, as information technology infrastructure
becomes more complex and more dynamic, there may be numerous packet
types and formats for the various different types of network
protocols and applications that may be carried on modern networks
that it difficult for effective network packet capture. Further,
many modern networks or networked applications are increasingly
using one or more cryptographic protocols to enable secure
connections. Secure connections are designed to provide
cryptographically secure communication. In some cases, the
cryptographically secure communication may interfere with network
monitoring. Thus, it is with respect to these considerations and
others that the present invention has been made.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Non-limiting and non-exhaustive embodiments of the present
innovations are described with reference to the following drawings.
In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like parts
throughout the various figures unless otherwise specified. For a
better understanding of the described innovations, reference will
be made to the following Detailed Description of Various
Embodiments, which is to be read in association with the
accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0009] FIG. 1 illustrates a system environment in which various
embodiments may be implemented;
[0010] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic embodiment of a client
computer;
[0011] FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic embodiment of a network
computer;
[0012] FIG. 4 illustrates a logical architecture of a system for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in with one or more of the
various embodiments;
[0013] FIG. 5 illustrates a logical schematic of a system for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with one or more
of the various embodiments;
[0014] FIG. 6 illustrates a logical architecture of a system for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with at least
one of the various embodiments;
[0015] FIG. 7 illustrates a logical architecture of a computer for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with at least
one of the various embodiments;
[0016] FIG. 8 illustrates a logical sequence diagram representation
of a sequence for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with one or more of the various embodiments;
[0017] FIG. 9 illustrates a logical representation of a table that
an NMC may employ to associate control keys, authentication keys,
session keys, server keys, service session keys, or other key
information with particular communication sessions, secure
connections, or network flows in accordance with one or more of
various embodiments;
[0018] FIG. 10 illustrates an overview flowchart of a process for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with at least
one of the various embodiments;
[0019] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a process for
authenticating clients for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with at least one of the various embodiments; and
[0020] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of a process for
authenticating clients for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with at least one of the various embodiments.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Various embodiments now will be described more fully
hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form
a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific
exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. The
embodiments may, however, be embodied in many different forms and
should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth
herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this
disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the
scope of the embodiments to those skilled in the art. Among other
things, the various embodiments may be methods, systems, media or
devices. Accordingly, the various embodiments may take the form of
an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or
an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. The
following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a
limiting sense.
[0022] Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms
take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context
clearly dictates otherwise. The phrase "in one embodiment" as used
herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it
may. Furthermore, the phrase "in another embodiment" as used herein
does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it
may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments may be readily
combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the
invention.
[0023] In addition, as used herein, the term "or" is an inclusive
"or" operator, and is equivalent to the term "and/or," unless the
context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "based on" is not
exclusive and allows for being based on additional factors not
described, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In
addition, throughout the specification, the meaning of "a," "an,"
and "the" include plural references. The meaning of "in" includes
"in" and "on."
[0024] For example, embodiments, the following terms are also used
herein according to the corresponding meaning, unless the context
clearly dictates otherwise.
[0025] As used herein the term, "engine" refers to logic embodied
in hardware or software instructions, which can be written in a
programming language, such as C, C++, Objective-C, COBOL, Java.TM.,
PHP, Perl, Python, R, Julia, JavaScript, Ruby, VBScript, Microsoft
.NET.TM. languages such as C#, or the like. An engine may be
compiled into executable programs or written in interpreted
programming languages. Software engines may be callable from other
engines or from themselves. Engines described herein refer to one
or more logical modules that can be merged with other engines or
applications, or can be divided into sub-engines. The engines can
be stored in non-transitory computer-readable medium or computer
storage device and be stored on and executed by one or more general
purpose computers, thus creating a special purpose computer
configured to provide the engine.
[0026] As used herein, the term "session" refers to a
semi-permanent interactive packet interchange between two or more
communicating endpoints, such as network devices. A session is set
up or established at a certain point in time, and torn down at a
later point in time. An established communication session may
involve more than one message in each direction. A session may have
stateful communication where at least one of the communicating
network devices saves information about the session history to be
able to communicate. A session may also provide stateless
communication, where the communication consists of independent
requests with responses between the endpoints. An established
session is the basic requirement to perform a connection-oriented
communication. A session also is the basic step to transmit in
connectionless communication modes.
[0027] As used herein, the terms "network connection," and
"connection" refer to communication sessions with a semi-permanent
connection for interactive packet interchange between two or more
communicating endpoints, such as network devices. The connection
may be established before application data is transferred, and
where a stream of data is delivered in the same or different order
than it was sent. The alternative to connection-oriented
transmission is connectionless communication. For example, the
datagram mode of communication used by the Internet Protocol (IP)
and the Universal Datagram Protocol (UDP) may deliver packets out
of order, since different packets may be routed independently and
could be delivered over different paths. Packets associated with a
TCP protocol connection may also be routed independently and could
be delivered over different paths. However, for TCP connections the
network communication system may provide the packets to application
endpoints in the correct order.
[0028] Connection-oriented communication may be a packet-mode
virtual circuit connection. For example, a transport layer virtual
circuit protocol such as the TCP protocol can deliver packets of
data in order although the lower layer switching is connectionless.
A connection-oriented transport layer protocol such as TCP can also
provide connection-oriented communications over connectionless
communication. For example, if TCP is based on a connectionless
network layer protocol (such as IP), this TCP/IP protocol can then
achieve in-order delivery of a byte stream of data, by means of
segment sequence numbering on the sender side, packet buffering and
data packet reordering on the receiver side. Alternatively, the
virtual circuit connection may be established in a datalink layer
or network layer switching mode, where all data packets belonging
to the same traffic stream are delivered over the same path, and
traffic flows are identified by some connection identifier rather
than by complete routing information, which enables fast
hardware-based switching.
[0029] As used herein, the term "network flow" refers to one or
more network packets or a stream of network packets that are
communicated in a session that is established between at least two
endpoints, such as two network devices. In one or more of the
various embodiments, flows may be useful if one or more of the
endpoints of a session may be behind a network traffic management
device, such as a firewall, switch, router, load balancer, or the
like. In one or more of the various embodiments, such flows may be
used to ensure that the packets sent between the endpoints of a
flow may be routed appropriately.
[0030] Typically, establishing a TCP based connection between
endpoints begins with the execution of an initialization protocol
and creates a single bi-directional flow between two endpoints,
e.g., one direction of flow going from endpoint A to endpoint B,
the other direction of the flow going from endpoint B to endpoint
A, where each endpoint is at least identified by an IP address and
a TCP port.
[0031] Also, some protocols or network applications may establish a
separate flow for control information that enables management of at
least one or more flows between two or more endpoints. Further, in
some embodiments, network flows may be half-flows that may be
unidirectional.
[0032] As used herein, the term "tuple" refers to a set of values
that identify a source and destination of a network packet, which
may, under some circumstances, be a part of a network connection.
In one embodiment, a tuple may include a source Internet Protocol
(IP) address, a destination IP address, a source port number, a
destination port number, virtual LAN segment identifier (VLAN ID),
tunnel identifier, routing interface identifier, physical interface
identifier, or a protocol identifier. Tuples may be used to
identify network flows (e.g., connection flows).
[0033] As used herein, the term "related flows," or "related
network flows" as used herein are network flows that while separate
they are operating cooperatively. For example, some protocols, such
as, FTP, SIP, RTP, VOIP, custom protocols, or the like, may provide
control communication over one network flow and data communication
over other network flows. Further, configuration rules may define
one or more criteria that are used to recognize that two or more
network flows should be considered related flows. For example,
configuration rules may define that flows containing a particular
field value should be grouped with other flows having the same
field value, such as, a cookie value, or the like. In cases,
related flows may be flows in different networks or network
segments that may be associated the same user, application, client
computer, source, destination, or the like.
[0034] As used herein, the terms "network monitor", "network
monitoring computer", or "NMC" refer to an application (software,
hardware, or some combination) that is arranged to monitor and
record flows of packets in a session that are communicated between
at least two endpoints over at least one network. The NMC can
provide information for assessing different aspects of these
monitored flows. In one or more embodiments, the NMC may passively
monitor network packet traffic without participating in the
communication protocols. This monitoring may be performed for a
variety of reasons, including troubleshooting and proactive
remediation, anomaly detection, end-user experience monitoring, SLA
monitoring, capacity planning, application lifecycle management,
infrastructure change management, infrastructure optimization,
business intelligence, security, and regulatory compliance. The NMC
can receive network communication for monitoring through a variety
of means including network taps, wireless receivers, port mirrors
or directed tunnels from network switches, clients or servers
including the endpoints themselves, or other infrastructure
devices. In at least some of the various embodiments, the NMC may
receive a copy of each packet on a particular network segment or
virtual local area network (VLAN). Also, for at least some of the
various embodiments, they may receive these packet copies through a
port mirror on a managed Ethernet switch, e.g., a Switched Port
Analyzer (SPAN) port, a Roving Analysis Port (RAP), or the like, or
combination thereof. Port mirroring enables analysis and debugging
of network communications. Port mirroring can be performed for
inbound or outbound traffic (or both) on single or multiple
interfaces.
[0035] The NMC may track network connections from and to end points
such as a client or a server. The NMC may also extract information
from the packets including protocol information at various layers
of the communication protocol stack. The NMC may reassemble or
reconstruct the stream of data exchanged between the endpoints. The
NMC may perform decryption of the payload at various layers of the
protocol stack. The NMC may passively monitor the network traffic
or it may participate in the protocols as a proxy. The NMC may
attempt to classify the network traffic according to communication
protocols that are used.
[0036] The NMC may also perform one or more actions for classifying
protocols that may be a necessary precondition for application
classification. While some protocols run on well-known ports,
others do not. Thus, even if there is traffic on a well-known port,
it is not necessarily the protocol generally understood to be
assigned to that port. As a result, the NMC may perform protocol
classification using one or more techniques, such as, signature
matching, statistical analysis, traffic analysis, and other
heuristics. In some cases, the NMC may use adaptive protocol
classification techniques where information used to classify the
protocols may be accumulated or applied over time to further
classify the observed protocols. In some embodiments, NMCs may be
arranged to employ stateful analysis. Accordingly, for each
supported protocols, an NMC may use network packet payload data to
drive a state machine that mimics the protocol state changes in the
client/server flows being monitored. The NMC may categorize the
traffic where categories might include file transfers, streaming
audio, streaming video, database access, interactive, gaming, and
the like. The NMC may attempt to determine whether the traffic
corresponds to known communications protocols, such as HTTP, SMTP,
NTML, FTP, SMTP, RTP, TDS, TCP, IP, and the like.
[0037] In addition, in one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs
or NMC functionality may be implemented using hardware or
software-based proxy devices that may be arranged to intercept
network traffic in the monitored networks rather than being
restricted to passive (pass through) monitoring.
[0038] As used herein, the terms "layer" and "model layer" refer to
a layer of one or more communication protocols in a stack of
communication protocol layers that are defined by a model, such as
the OSI model and the TCP/IP (IP) model. The OSI model defines
seven layers and the TCP/IP model defines four layers of
communication protocols.
[0039] For example, at the OSI model's lowest or first layer
(Physical), streams of electrical/light/radio impulses (bits) are
communicated between computing devices over some type of media,
such as cables, network interface cards, radio wave transmitters,
and the like. At the next or second layer (Data Link), bits are
encoded into packets and packets are also decoded into bits. The
Data Link layer also has two sub-layers, the Media Access Control
(MAC) sub-layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) sub-layer. The
MAC sub-layer controls how a computing device gains access to the
data and permission to transmit it. The LLC sub-layer controls
frame synchronization, flow control and error checking. At the
third layer (Network), logical paths are created, known as virtual
circuits, to communicated data from node to node. Routing,
forwarding, addressing, internetworking, error handling, congestion
control, and packet sequencing are functions of the Network layer.
At the fourth layer (Transport), transparent transfer of data
between end computing devices, or hosts, is provided. The Transport
layer is responsible for end-to-end recovery and flow control to
ensure complete data transfer over the network.
[0040] At the fifth layer (Session) of the OSI model, connections
between applications are established, managed, and terminated. The
Session layer sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations,
exchanges, and dialogues between applications at each end of a
connection. At the sixth layer (Presentation), independence from
differences in data representation, e.g., encryption, is provided
by translating from application to network format and vice versa.
Generally, the Presentation layer transforms data into the form
that the protocols at the Application layer (7) can accept. For
example, the Presentation layer generally handles the formatting
and encrypting/decrypting of data that is communicated across a
network.
[0041] At the top or seventh layer (Application) of the OSI model,
application and end user processes are supported. For example,
communication partners may be identified, quality of service can be
identified, user authentication and privacy may be considered, and
constraints on data syntax can be identified. Generally, the
Application layer provides services for file transfer, messaging,
and displaying data. Protocols at the Application layer include
FTP, HTTP, and Telnet.
[0042] To reduce the number of layers from seven to four, the
TCP/IP model collapses the OSI model's Application, Presentation,
and Session layers into its Application layer. Also, the OSI's
Physical layer is either assumed or may be collapsed into the
TCP/IP model's Link layer. Although some communication protocols
may be listed at different numbered or named layers of the TCP/IP
model versus the OSI model, both of these models describe stacks
that include basically the same protocols.
[0043] As used herein, the term "entity" refers to an actor in the
monitored network. Entities may include applications, services,
programs, processes, network devices, network computers, client
computers, or the like, operating in the monitored network. For
example, individual entities may include, web clients, web servers,
database clients, database servers, mobile app clients, payment
processors, groupware clients, groupware services, or the like. In
some cases, multiple entities may co-exist on or in the same
network computer, process, application, compute container, or cloud
compute instance.
[0044] As used herein, the term "observation port" refers to
network taps, wireless receivers, port mirrors or directed tunnels
from network switches, clients or servers, virtual machines, cloud
computing instances, other network infrastructure devices or
processes, or the like, or combination thereof. Observation ports
may provide a copy of each network packet included in wire traffic
on a particular network segment or virtual local area network
(VLAN). Also, for at least some of the various embodiments,
observation ports may provide NMCs network packet copies through a
port mirror on a managed Ethernet switch, e.g., a Switched Port
Analyzer (SPAN) port, or a Roving Analysis Port (RAP).
[0045] As used herein, the term "centralized security protocol"
refers to a network security protocol that relies on a central
coordinating system. In some cases, this may include one or more
servers that have cryptographic keys for each participant (e.g.,
clients, servers, users, services, or the like). Thus, while
participants may exchange information including ephemeral keys or
key material, the central servers maintain master keys for each
participant.
[0046] As used herein, the terms "authentication control server,"
or "control server" refer to servers that host one or more
control/management processes that implement or otherwise provide a
centralized security protocol. Authentication control servers may
store long lived keys for entities that it protects as well as
itself.
[0047] As used herein, the term "client" refers to computers,
users, services, applications, or the like, that may be attempting
to access resources protected by a centralized security protocol.
For brevity and clarity, the term client is used herein to
represent entities that intend access protected resources in the
protected network. In some cases, clients may become servers if
they provide or offer services/resources to other entities.
[0048] As used herein, the term "server," or "resource server"
refers to computers, users, services, applications, or the like,
that may offer or provide resources in a network protected using a
centralized security protocol. For brevity and clarity, the term
server or resource server is used herein to represent the various
entities that provide protected resources in the protected network.
In some cases, servers may become clients if they request
services/resources from other entities.
[0049] As used herein the term, "control key" refers to a
long-lived (e.g., not ephemeral) cryptographic key that
authentication control servers use to encrypt portions of the
centralized security protocol network traffic. Control keys may be
restricted to the authentication control servers for centralized
security protocols.
[0050] As used herein, the term "client key" refers to long-lived
(e.g., not ephemeral) cryptographic keys that clients may use to
encrypt portions of the network traffic as part of a centralized
security protocol. Authentication control servers may distribute
client keys to each client participating in the centralized
security protocol. Note, authentication control servers may keep
copies of the client keys used by its clients.
[0051] As used herein. the term "server key" refers to long-lived
(e.g., not ephemeral) cryptographic keys that servers may use to
encrypt portions of the network traffic as part of a centralized
security protocol. Authentication control servers may distribute
server keys to each server participating in the centralized
security protocol. Note, authentication control servers may keep
copies of the server keys used by its clients.
[0052] As used herein, the term "authentication key" refers to a
data structure that may be encrypted by a control key of an
authentication control server as part of a centralized security
protocol. Authentication keys may be provided to entities as per
the centralized security protocol, or the like. In some cases,
clients or servers may treat the encrypted data structure as an
opaque key because access to the control key required to decrypt
the authentication key may be restricted to the authentication
control server.
[0053] As used herein, the term "session key" refers to a temporary
cryptographic key that may be part of a centralized security
protocol. Session keys may be generated by authentication control
servers if a client may be authenticated by the authentication
control server. Clients may keep a copy of the session key which
may be reused as part of a centralized security protocol to access
servers protected by the centralized security protocol.
[0054] As used herein, the term "service session key" refers to a
cryptographic key exchanged between a client and server as part of
a centralized security protocol. The service session keys may be
used to authentication network traffic from clients or servers
absent the intervention of an authentication control server.
[0055] As used herein the term, "authentication request" refers to
a message sent by a client to authenticate itself with an
authentication control server as part of a centralized security
protocol. Typically, such requests may include information about
the client encrypted using its client key.
[0056] As used herein the term, "authentication response" refers to
a message sent by an authentication control server to a client in
response to an authentication request from the client. Typically,
among other things, the client may receive an authentication key in
the authentication response.
[0057] As used herein the term, "access request" refers to a
message sent by a client to an authentication control server to
request access to a protected server. Among other things, access
requests may include valid authentication keys previously provided
by authentication control servers that protect the network.
[0058] As used herein the term, "access response" refers to
messages sent by authentication control servers to clients in
response to access requests. If a client is granted access to a
server by an authentication control server, the access response may
include a service session key.
[0059] As used herein the term, "server request" refers to a
message sent by a client to obtain services or resources from a
server that may be protected by a centralized security protocol.
Among other things, server requests may include the server session
key that enable the server to validate that the authentication
control server has authenticated the client prior to the client
sending the server request.
[0060] As used herein the term, "server response" refers to a
message sent by a server to a client in response to a server
request. Server responses may include portions that are encrypted
by a service session key which enables clients to validate the
serve response.
[0061] As used herein the term, "correlation information" refers to
information that may be used to correlate key information with
particular flows, sessions, or connections, or the like.
Correlation information may include various values that may be
associated with a flow, such as, tuple information, client/server
random numbers, handshake hashes, date-time information,
timestamps, or the like, or combination thereof. Generally,
correlation information may be information that a NMC may determine
or observe without using the key information or decrypting the
encrypted network traffic. Correlation information is stored in a
key escrow with its corresponding key information.
[0062] As used herein the term, "configuration information" refers
to information that may include rule-based policies, pattern
matching, scripts (e.g., computer readable instructions), or the
like, that may be provided from various sources, including,
configuration files, databases, user input, built-in defaults, or
the like, or combination thereof. In some cases, configuration
information may include or reference information stored in other
systems or services, such as, configuration management databases,
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) servers, name
services, public key infrastructure services, or the like.
[0063] The following briefly describes embodiments of the invention
in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the
invention. This brief description is not intended as an extensive
overview. It is not intended to identify key or critical elements,
or to delineate or otherwise narrow the scope. Its purpose is
merely to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude
to the more detailed description that is presented later.
[0064] Briefly stated, various embodiments are directed monitoring
network traffic using one or more network monitoring computers. In
some embodiments, networks may be configured to protected one or
more entities or resources using centralized security protocols. In
some embodiments, centralized security protocols may depend on a
centralized control provided by authentication control servers. In
one or more of the various embodiments, if a client intends to
access protected servers, the client may provide an authentication
request to an authentication control server to obtain an
authentication key and session key that may be enable to request to
access one or more servers. Accordingly, in some embodiments, NMCs
may be arranged to monitor the network traffic associated with the
authentication request provided by clients and the authentication
response provided by authentication control servers.
[0065] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the client
intends to access a particular server in the protected network it
may generate an access request that may be sent to the
authentication control server. Accordingly, in some embodiments,
the NMC may be arranged to monitor the network traffic associated
with the access request.
[0066] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the
authentication control server is able to authenticate the client
and validate its access request, the authentication control server
my generate an access response that may be sent to the client.
Accordingly, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to
monitor the network traffic associated with the access
response.
[0067] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the client
receives an access response that enables it to access the server,
the client may generate a server request that it may send to the
server. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged
to monitor the network traffic associated with the server
request.
[0068] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the server
validates the client server request, the server may generate a
server response that includes information that enables the client
and server to communicate with each other.
[0069] Further, in one or more of the various embodiments,
monitoring communication over a network between one or more
computers may include providing a control server that distributes
one or more client keys to the one or more computers such that the
one or more computers are one or more of a client or a resource
server.
[0070] In one or more of the various embodiments, in response to
determining network traffic that may be associated with a request
from the client to access the resource server, further actions may
be performed, including: monitoring a first communication between
the client and the control server that authenticates the client
with the control server and authenticates the control server with
the client such that a portion of the first communication may be
encrypted with a client key associated with the client and such
that the client may be provided an authentication token associated
with the control server; in one or more of the various embodiments,
monitoring a second communication between the client and the
control server that may include a request to access the resource
server such that a portion of the second communication may be
encrypted with one or more of the client key or the authentication
token and such that the control server may provide an access token
to the client that may enable the client to access the resource
server; in one or more of the various embodiments, monitoring other
communication between the client and the resource server that may
include the access token such that one or more portions of the
other communication may be encrypted with one or more of the access
token or one or more other keys derived from one or more of the
access token or one or more other portions of the other
communication, and such that the other communication enables the
client to access the resource server; generating one or more
metrics based on the network traffic associated with one or more of
the first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication; generating one or more reports that may include
information associated with one or more of the client, the resource
server, or the control server; or the like.
[0071] In one or more of the various embodiments, the one or more
keys may be provided to the NMC. In some embodiments, the one or
more keys may be employed to decrypt one or more portions of one or
more of the first communication, the second communication, or the
other communication. And, in some embodiments, the one or more
metrics may be updated based on the one or more decrypted portions
of the one or more of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication.
[0072] In one or more of the various embodiments, one or more
sharing agents may be provided to the one or more computers. In
some embodiments, one or more of the client key, the authentication
token, or the access token may be determined based on information
provided by the one or more sharing agents. In one or more of the
various embodiments, the one or more of the client key, the
authentication token, or the access token may be employed to
decrypt one or more portions of one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication. And, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
one or more metrics may be updated based on the one or more
decrypted portions of the one or more of the first communication,
the second communication, or the other communication.
[0073] In one or more of the various embodiments, monitoring the
first communication between the client and the control server may
include: generating a portion of the one or more metrics based on
one or more characteristics of the network traffic associated the
first communication such that the portion of the one or more
metrics based on one or more non-encrypted portions of the network
traffic. In one or more of the various embodiments, a second
portion of the one or more metrics may be generated based on one or
more other characteristics of the network traffic associated the
second communication such that the second portion of the one or
more metrics is based on one or more other non-encrypted portions
network traffic. And, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the second communication may be correlated with the first
communication based on the first portion of the one or more metrics
and the second portion of the one or more metrics.
[0074] In one or more of the various embodiments, generating the
one or more metrics based on the network traffic associated with
the first communication, the second communication, or the other
communication, may include: determining one or more characteristics
that may be associated with one or more of the first communication,
the second communication, or the other communication based on one
or more portions of non-encrypted network traffic such that the one
or more characteristics may include one or more of time of
transmission, packet size, latency, source client, target resource
server, tuple information, application protocol, or the like; in
one or more of the various embodiments, determining one or more
anomalous characteristics based on one or more values associated
with the one or more characteristics such that the one or more
values exceed one or more threshold values or violate one or more
policies and such that the one or more anomalous characteristics
include one or more of anomalous amount of time for a
communication, an anomalous packet size, an anomalous latency, an
anomalous source client, an anomalous target resource server,
anomalous tuple information, or an anomalous application protocol.
And, in one or more of the various embodiments, updating the one or
more metrics based on the one or more anomalous
characteristics.
[0075] In one or more of the various embodiments, one or more
application protocols employed for one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other communication
may be determined based on one or more characteristics of the
network traffic associated with the one or more of the first
communication, the second communication, or the other
communication. And, in one or more of the various embodiments, one
or more portions of the one or more metrics may be generated based
on one or more portions of the first communication, the second
communication, or the other communication that may be included in
payload network traffic associated with the one or more application
protocols.
[0076] Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, the first
communication, the second communication, and the other
communication may conform to a Kerberos-based authentication
protocol.
Illustrated Operating Environment
[0077] FIG. 1 shows components of one embodiment of an environment
in which embodiments of the invention may be practiced. Not all of
the components may be required to practice the invention, and
variations in the arrangement and type of the components may be
made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.
As shown, system 100 of FIG. 1 includes local area networks
(LANs)/wide area networks (WANs)-(network) 110, wireless network
108, client computers 102-105, application server computer 116,
authentication control server 117, network monitoring computer 118,
or the like.
[0078] At least one embodiment of client computers 102-105 is
described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 2. In one
embodiment, at least some of client computers 102-105 may operate
over one or more wired or wireless networks, such as networks 108,
or 110. Generally, client computers 102-105 may include virtually
any computer capable of communicating over a network to send and
receive information, perform various online activities, offline
actions, or the like. In one embodiment, one or more of client
computers 102-105 may be configured to operate within a business or
other entity to perform a variety of services for the business or
other entity. For example, client computers 102-105 may be
configured to operate as a web server, firewall, client
application, media player, mobile telephone, game console, desktop
computer, or the like. However, client computers 102-105 are not
constrained to these services and may also be employed, for
example, as for end-user computing in other embodiments. It should
be recognized that more or less client computers (as shown in FIG.
1) may be included within a system such as described herein, and
embodiments are therefore not constrained by the number or type of
client computers employed.
[0079] Computers that may operate as client computer 102 may
include computers that typically connect using a wired or wireless
communications medium such as personal computers, multiprocessor
systems, microprocessor-based or programmable electronic devices,
network PCs, or the like. In some embodiments, client computers
102-105 may include virtually any portable computer capable of
connecting to another computer and receiving information such as,
laptop computer 103, mobile computer 104, tablet computers 105, or
the like. However, portable computers are not so limited and may
also include other portable computers such as cellular telephones,
display pagers, radio frequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR)
devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers,
wearable computers, integrated devices combining one or more of the
preceding computers, or the like. As such, client computers 102-105
typically range widely in terms of capabilities and features.
Moreover, client computers 102-105 may access various computing
applications, including a browser, or other web-based
application.
[0080] A web-enabled client computer may include a browser
application that is configured to send requests and receive
responses over the web. The browser application may be configured
to receive and display graphics, text, multimedia, and the like,
employing virtually any web-based language. In one embodiment, the
browser application is enabled to employ JavaScript, HyperText
Markup Language (HTML), eXtensible Markup Language (XML),
JavaScript Object Notation (JSON), Cascading Style Sheets (CS S),
or the like, or combination thereof, to display and send a message.
In one embodiment, a user of the client computer may employ the
browser application to perform various activities over a network
(online). However, another application may also be used to perform
various online activities.
[0081] Client computers 102-105 also may include at least one other
client application that is configured to receive or send content
between another computer. The client application may include a
capability to send or receive content, or the like. The client
application may further provide information that identifies itself,
including a type, capability, name, and the like. In one
embodiment, client computers 102-105 may uniquely identify
themselves through any of a variety of mechanisms, including an
Internet Protocol (IP) address, a phone number, Mobile
Identification Number (MIN), an electronic serial number (ESN), a
client certificate, or other device identifier. Such information
may be provided in one or more network packets, or the like, sent
between other client computers, application server computer 116,
authentication control server 117, network monitoring computer 118,
or other computers.
[0082] Client computers 102-105 may further be configured to
include a client application that enables an end-user to log into
an end-user account that may be managed by another computer, such
as application server computer 116, authentication control server
117, network monitoring computer 118, or the like. Such an end-user
account, in one non-limiting example, may be configured to enable
the end-user to manage one or more online activities, including in
one non-limiting example, project management, software development,
system administration, configuration management, search activities,
social networking activities, browse various websites, communicate
with other users, or the like. Further, client computers may be
arranged to enable users to provide configuration information,
policy information, or the like, to network monitoring computer
118. Also, client computers may be arranged to enable users to
display reports, interactive user-interfaces, results provided by
network monitor computer 118, or the like. Wireless network 108 is
configured to couple client computers 103-105 and its components
with network 110. Wireless network 108 may include any of a variety
of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alone
ad-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an
infrastructure-oriented connection for client computers 103-105.
Such sub-networks may include mesh networks, Wireless LAN (WLAN)
networks, cellular networks, and the like. In one embodiment, the
system may include more than one wireless network.
[0083] Wireless network 108 may further include an autonomous
system of terminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by
wireless radio links, and the like. These connectors may be
configured to move freely and randomly and organize themselves
arbitrarily, such that the topology of wireless network 108 may
change rapidly.
[0084] Wireless network 108 may further employ a plurality of
access technologies including 2nd (2G), 3rd (3G), 4th (4G) 5th (5G)
generation radio access for cellular systems, WLAN, Wireless Router
(WR) mesh, and the like. Access technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G,
5G, and future access networks may enable wide area coverage for
mobile computers, such as client computers 103-105 with various
degrees of mobility. In one non-limiting example, wireless network
108 may enable a radio connection through a radio network access
such as Global System for Mobil communication (GSM), General Packet
Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), code
division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access
(TDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed
Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and the
like. In essence, wireless network 108 may include virtually any
wireless communication mechanism by which information may travel
between client computers 103-105 and another computer, network, a
cloud-based network, a cloud instance, or the like.
[0085] Network 110 is configured to couple network computers with
other computers, including, application server computer 116,
authentication control server 117, network monitoring computer 118,
client computers 102-105 through wireless network 108, or the like.
Network 110 is enabled to employ any form of computer readable
media for communicating information from one electronic device to
another. Also, network 110 can include the Internet in addition to
local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct
connections, such as through a universal serial bus (USB) port,
Ethernet port, other forms of computer-readable media, or any
combination thereof. On an interconnected set of LANs, including
those based on differing architectures and protocols, a router acts
as a link between LANs, enabling messages to be sent from one to
another. In addition, communication links within LANs typically
include twisted wire pair or coaxial cable, while communication
links between networks may utilize analog telephone lines, full or
fractional dedicated digital lines including T1, T2, T3, and T4, or
other carrier mechanisms including, for example, E-carriers,
Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital Subscriber
Lines (DSLs), wireless links including satellite links, or other
communications links known to those skilled in the art. Moreover,
communication links may further employ any of a variety of digital
signaling technologies, including without limit, for example, DS-0,
DS-1, DS-2, DS-3, DS-4, OC-3, OC-12, OC-48, or the like.
Furthermore, remote computers and other related electronic devices
could be remotely connected to either LANs or WANs via a modem and
temporary telephone link. In one embodiment, network 110 may be
configured to transport information using one or more network
protocols, such Internet Protocol (IP).
[0086] Additionally, communication media typically embodies
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules,
or other transport mechanism and includes any information
non-transitory delivery media or transitory delivery media. By way
of example, communication media includes wired media such as
twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber optics, wave guides, and other
wired media and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and
other wireless media.
[0087] One embodiment of application server computer 116,
authentication control server 117, network monitoring computer 118
is described in more detail below in conjunction with FIG. 3.
Although FIG. 1 illustrates application server computer 116,
authentication control server 117, and network monitoring computer
118, each as a single computer, the innovations or embodiments are
not so limited. For example, one or more functions of application
server computer 116, authentication control server 117, network
monitoring computer 118, or the like, may be distributed across one
or more distinct network computers. Moreover, in one or more
embodiment, network monitoring computer 118 may be implemented
using a plurality of network computers. Further, in one or more of
the various embodiments, application server computer 116,
authentication control server 117, or network monitoring computer
118 may be implemented using one or more cloud instances in one or
more cloud networks. Accordingly, these innovations and embodiments
are not to be construed as being limited to a single environment,
and other configurations, and other architectures are also
envisaged.
Illustrative Client Computer
[0088] FIG. 2 shows one embodiment of client computer 200 that may
include many more or less components than those shown. Client
computer 200 may represent, for example, at least one embodiment of
mobile computers or client computers shown in FIG. 1.
[0089] Client computer 200 may include processor 202 in
communication with memory 204 via bus 228. Client computer 200 may
also include power supply 230, network interface 232, audio
interface 256, display 250, keypad 252, illuminator 254, video
interface 242, input/output interface 238, haptic interface 264,
global positioning systems (GPS) receiver 258, open air gesture
interface 260, temperature interface 262, camera(s) 240, projector
246, pointing device interface 266, processor-readable stationary
storage device 234, and processor-readable removable storage device
236. Client computer 200 may optionally communicate with a base
station (not shown), or directly with another computer. And in one
embodiment, although not shown, a gyroscope may be employed within
client computer 200 for measuring or maintaining an orientation of
client computer 200.
[0090] Power supply 230 may provide power to client computer 200. A
rechargeable or non-rechargeable battery may be used to provide
power. The power may also be provided by an external power source,
such as an AC adapter or a powered docking cradle that supplements
or recharges the battery.
[0091] Network interface 232 includes circuitry for coupling client
computer 200 to one or more networks, and is constructed for use
with one or more communication protocols and technologies
including, but not limited to, protocols and technologies that
implement any portion of the OSI model for mobile communication
(GSM), CDMA, time division multiple access (TDMA), UDP, TCP/IP,
SMS, MMS, GPRS, WAP, UWB, WiMax, SIP/RTP, GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA, LTE,
UMTS, OFDM, CDMA2000, EV-DO, HSDPA, or any of a variety of other
wireless communication protocols. Network interface 232 is
sometimes known as a transceiver, transceiving device, or network
interface card (MC).
[0092] Audio interface 256 may be arranged to produce and receive
audio signals such as the sound of a human voice. For example,
audio interface 256 may be coupled to a speaker and microphone (not
shown) to enable telecommunication with others or generate an audio
acknowledgement for some action. A microphone in audio interface
256 can also be used for input to or control of client computer
200, e.g., using voice recognition, detecting touch based on sound,
and the like.
[0093] Display 250 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gas
plasma, electronic ink, light emitting diode (LED), Organic LED
(OLED) or any other type of light reflective or light transmissive
display that can be used with a computer. Display 250 may also
include a touch interface 244 arranged to receive input from an
object such as a stylus or a digit from a human hand, and may use
resistive, capacitive, surface acoustic wave (SAW), infrared,
radar, or other technologies to sense touch or gestures.
[0094] Projector 246 may be a remote handheld projector or an
integrated projector that is capable of projecting an image on a
remote wall or any other reflective object such as a remote
screen.
[0095] Video interface 242 may be arranged to capture video images,
such as a still photo, a video segment, an infrared video, or the
like. For example, video interface 242 may be coupled to a digital
video camera, a web-camera, or the like. Video interface 242 may
comprise a lens, an image sensor, and other electronics. Image
sensors may include a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor
(CMOS) integrated circuit, charge-coupled device (CCD), or any
other integrated circuit for sensing light.
[0096] Keypad 252 may comprise any input device arranged to receive
input from a user. For example, keypad 252 may include a push
button numeric dial, or a keyboard. Keypad 252 may also include
command buttons that are associated with selecting and sending
images.
[0097] Illuminator 254 may provide a status indication or provide
light. Illuminator 254 may remain active for specific periods of
time or in response to event messages. For example, when
illuminator 254 is active, it may backlight the buttons on keypad
252 and stay on while the client computer is powered. Also,
illuminator 254 may backlight these buttons in various patterns
when particular actions are performed, such as dialing another
client computer. Illuminator 254 may also cause light sources
positioned within a transparent or translucent case of the client
computer to illuminate in response to actions.
[0098] Further, client computer 200 may also comprise hardware
security module (HSM) 268 for providing additional tamper resistant
safeguards for generating, storing or using security/cryptographic
information such as, keys, digital certificates, passwords,
passphrases, two-factor authentication information, or the like. In
some embodiments, hardware security module may be employed to
support one or more standard public key infrastructures (PKI), and
may be employed to generate, manage, or store keys pairs, or the
like. In some embodiments, HSM 268 may be a stand-alone computer,
in other cases, HSM 268 may be arranged as a hardware card that may
be added to a client computer.
[0099] Client computer 200 may also comprise input/output interface
238 for communicating with external peripheral devices or other
computers such as other client computers and network computers. The
peripheral devices may include an audio headset, virtual reality
headsets, display screen glasses, remote speaker system, remote
speaker and microphone system, and the like. Input/output interface
238 can utilize one or more technologies, such as Universal Serial
Bus (USB), Infrared, WiFi, WiMax, Bluetooth.TM., and the like.
[0100] Input/output interface 238 may also include one or more
sensors for determining geolocation information (e.g., GPS),
monitoring electrical power conditions (e.g., voltage sensors,
current sensors, frequency sensors, and so on), monitoring weather
(e.g., thermostats, barometers, anemometers, humidity detectors,
precipitation scales, or the like), or the like. Sensors may be one
or more hardware sensors that collect or measure data that is
external to client computer 200.
[0101] Haptic interface 264 may be arranged to provide tactile
feedback to a user of the client computer. For example, the haptic
interface 264 may be employed to vibrate client computer 200 in a
particular way when another user of a computer is calling.
Temperature interface 262 may be used to provide a temperature
measurement input or a temperature changing output to a user of
client computer 200. Open air gesture interface 260 may sense
physical gestures of a user of client computer 200, for example, by
using single or stereo video cameras, radar, a gyroscopic sensor
inside a computer held or worn by the user, or the like. Camera 240
may be used to track physical eye movements of a user of client
computer 200.
[0102] GPS transceiver 258 can determine the physical coordinates
of client computer 200 on the surface of the Earth, which typically
outputs a location as latitude and longitude values. GPS
transceiver 258 can also employ other geo-positioning mechanisms,
including, but not limited to, triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS),
Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD), Cell Identifier (CI),
Service Area Identifier (SAI), Enhanced Timing Advance (ETA), Base
Station Subsystem (BSS), or the like, to further determine the
physical location of client computer 200 on the surface of the
Earth. It is understood that under different conditions, GPS
transceiver 258 can determine a physical location for client
computer 200. In one or more embodiment, however, client computer
200 may, through other components, provide other information that
may be employed to determine a physical location of the client
computer, including for example, a Media Access Control (MAC)
address, IP address, and the like.
[0103] Human interface components can be peripheral devices that
are physically separate from client computer 200, allowing for
remote input or output to client computer 200. For example,
information routed as described here through human interface
components such as display 250 or keyboard 252 can instead be
routed through network interface 232 to appropriate human interface
components located remotely. Examples of human interface peripheral
components that may be remote include, but are not limited to,
audio devices, pointing devices, keypads, displays, cameras,
projectors, and the like. These peripheral components may
communicate over a Pico Network such as Bluetooth.TM., Zigbee.TM.
and the like. One non-limiting example of a client computer with
such peripheral human interface components is a wearable computer,
which might include a remote pico projector along with one or more
cameras that remotely communicate with a separately located client
computer to sense a user's gestures toward portions of an image
projected by the pico projector onto a reflected surface such as a
wall or the user's hand.
[0104] A client computer may include web browser application 227
that is configured to receive and to send web pages, web-based
messages, graphics, text, multimedia, and the like. The client
computer's browser application may employ virtually any programming
language, including a wireless application protocol messages (WAP),
and the like. In one or more embodiment, the browser application is
enabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), Wireless
Markup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, Standard Generalized
Markup Language (SGML), HyperText Markup Language (HTML),
eXtensible Markup Language (XML), HTML5, and the like.
[0105] Memory 204 may include RAM, ROM, or other types of memory.
Memory 204 illustrates an example of computer-readable storage
media (devices) for storage of information such as
computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules or
other data. Memory 204 may store BIOS 208 for controlling low-level
operation of client computer 200. The memory may also store
operating system 206 for controlling the operation of client
computer 200. It will be appreciated that this component may
include a general-purpose operating system such as a version of
UNIX, or Linux.RTM., or a specialized client computer communication
operating system such as Windows Phone.TM., or the Symbian.RTM.
operating system. The operating system may include, or interface
with a Java virtual machine module that enables control of hardware
components or operating system operations via Java application
programs.
[0106] Memory 204 may further include one or more data storage 210,
which can be utilized by client computer 200 to store, among other
things, applications 220 or other data. For example, data storage
210 may also be employed to store information that describes
various capabilities of client computer 200. The information may
then be provided to another device or computer based on any of a
variety of methods, including being sent as part of a header during
a communication, sent upon request, or the like. Data storage 210
may also be employed to store social networking information
including address books, buddy lists, aliases, user profile
information, or the like. Data storage 210 may further include
program code, data, algorithms, and the like, for use by a
processor, such as processor 202 to execute and perform actions. In
one embodiment, at least some of data storage 210 might also be
stored on another component of client computer 200, including, but
not limited to, non-transitory processor-readable removable storage
device 236, processor-readable stationary storage device 234, or
even external to the client computer.
[0107] Applications 220 may include computer executable
instructions which, when executed by client computer 200, transmit,
receive, or otherwise process instructions and data. Applications
220 may include, for example, crypto provider 222, secret sharing
engine 224, other client applications 226, web browser 227, or the
like. Client computers may be arranged to exchange communications,
such as, queries, searches, messages, notification messages, event
messages, alerts, performance metrics, log data, API calls, or the
like, combination thereof, with application servers or network
monitoring computers. Other examples of application programs
include calendars, search programs, email client applications, IM
applications, SMS applications, Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP)
applications, contact managers, task managers, transcoders,
database programs, word processing programs, security applications,
spreadsheet programs, games, search programs, and so forth.
[0108] Additionally, in one or more embodiments (not shown in the
figures), client computer 200 may include one or more embedded
logic hardware devices instead of CPUs, such as, an Application
Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array
(FPGA), Programmable Array Logic (PAL), or the like, or combination
thereof. The embedded logic hardware devices may directly execute
embedded logic to perform actions. Also, in one or more embodiments
(not shown in the figures), client computer 200 may include one or
more hardware microcontrollers instead of CPUs. In one or more
embodiments, the microcontrollers may directly execute their own
embedded logic to perform actions and access their own internal
memory and their own external Input and Output Interfaces (e.g.,
hardware pins or wireless transceivers) to perform actions, such as
System On a Chip (SOC), or the like.
Illustrative Network Computer
[0109] FIG. 3 shows one embodiment of network computer 300 that may
be included in a system implementing at least one of the various
embodiments. Network computer 300 may include many more or less
components than those shown in FIG. 3. However, the components
shown are sufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for
practicing these innovations. Network computer 300 may represent,
for example, one embodiment of at least one of application server
computer 116, authentication control server 117, or network
monitoring computer 118 of FIG. 1.
[0110] As shown in the figure, network computer 300 includes a
processor 302 that may be in communication with a memory 304 via a
bus 328. In some embodiments, processor 302 may be comprised of one
or more hardware processors, or one or more processor cores. In
some cases, one or more of the one or more processors may be
specialized processors designed to perform one or more specialized
actions, such as, those described herein. Network computer 300 also
includes a power supply 330, network interface 332, audio interface
356, display 350, keyboard 352, input/output interface 338,
processor-readable stationary storage device 334, and
processor-readable removable storage device 336. Power supply 330
provides power to network computer 300.
[0111] Network interface 332 includes circuitry for coupling
network computer 300 to one or more networks, and is constructed
for use with one or more communication protocols and technologies
including, but not limited to, protocols and technologies that
implement any portion of the Open Systems Interconnection model
(OSI model), global system for mobile communication (GSM), code
division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access
(TDMA), user datagram protocol (UDP), transmission control
protocol/Internet protocol (TCP/IP), Short Message Service (SMS),
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), general packet radio service
(GPRS), WAP, ultra-wide band (UWB), IEEE 802.16 Worldwide
Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Session Initiation
Protocol/Real-time Transport Protocol (SIP/RTP), or any of a
variety of other wired and wireless communication protocols.
Network interface 332 is sometimes known as a transceiver,
transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC). Network
computer 300 may optionally communicate with a base station (not
shown), or directly with another computer.
[0112] Audio interface 356 is arranged to produce and receive audio
signals such as the sound of a human voice. For example, audio
interface 356 may be coupled to a speaker and microphone (not
shown) to enable telecommunication with others or generate an audio
acknowledgement for some action. A microphone in audio interface
356 can also be used for input to or control of network computer
300, for example, using voice recognition.
[0113] Display 350 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gas
plasma, electronic ink, light emitting diode (LED), Organic LED
(OLED) or any other type of light reflective or light transmissive
display that can be used with a computer. In some embodiments,
display 350 may be a handheld projector or pico projector capable
of projecting an image on a wall or other object.
[0114] Network computer 300 may also comprise input/output
interface 338 for communicating with external devices or computers
not shown in FIG. 3. Input/output interface 338 can utilize one or
more wired or wireless communication technologies, such as USB.TM.,
Firewire.TM., WiFi, WiMax, Thunderbolt.TM., Infrared,
Bluetooth.TM., Zigbee.TM., serial port, parallel port, and the
like.
[0115] Also, input/output interface 338 may also include one or
more sensors for determining geolocation information (e.g., GPS),
monitoring electrical power conditions (e.g., voltage sensors,
current sensors, frequency sensors, and so on), monitoring weather
(e.g., thermostats, barometers, anemometers, humidity detectors,
precipitation scales, or the like), or the like. Sensors may be one
or more hardware sensors that collect or measure data that is
external to network computer 300. Human interface components can be
physically separate from network computer 300, allowing for remote
input or output to network computer 300. For example, information
routed as described here through human interface components such as
display 350 or keyboard 352 can instead be routed through the
network interface 332 to appropriate human interface components
located elsewhere on the network. Human interface components
include any component that allows the computer to take input from,
or send output to, a human user of a computer. Accordingly,
pointing devices such as mice, styluses, track balls, or the like,
may communicate through pointing device interface 358 to receive
user input.
[0116] GPS transceiver 340 can determine the physical coordinates
of network computer 300 on the surface of the Earth, which
typically outputs a location as latitude and longitude values. GPS
transceiver 340 can also employ other geo-positioning mechanisms,
including, but not limited to, triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS),
Enhanced Observed Time Difference (E-OTD), Cell Identifier (CI),
Service Area Identifier (SAI), Enhanced Timing Advance (ETA), Base
Station Subsystem (BSS), or the like, to further determine the
physical location of network computer 300 on the surface of the
Earth. It is understood that under different conditions, GPS
transceiver 340 can determine a physical location for network
computer 300. In one or more embodiment, however, network computer
300 may, through other components, provide other information that
may be employed to determine a physical location of the client
computer, including for example, a Media Access Control (MAC)
address, IP address, and the like.
[0117] In at least one of the various embodiments, applications,
such as, operating system 306, network monitoring engine 322,
honeypot engine 324, classification engine 326, web services 329,
or the like, may be arranged to employ geo-location information to
select one or more localization features, such as, time zones,
languages, currencies, calendar formatting, or the like.
Localization features may be used when interpreting network
traffic, monitoring application protocols, user-interfaces,
generating reports, as well as internal processes or databases. In
at least one of the various embodiments, geo-location information
used for selecting localization information may be provided by GPS
340. Also, in some embodiments, geolocation information may include
information provided using one or more geolocation protocols over
the networks, such as, wireless network 108 or network 111.
[0118] Memory 304 may include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only
Memory (ROM), or other types of memory. Memory 304 illustrates an
example of computer-readable storage media (devices) for storage of
information such as computer-readable instructions, data
structures, program modules or other data. Memory 304 stores a
basic input/output system (BIOS) 308 for controlling low-level
operation of network computer 300. The memory also stores an
operating system 306 for controlling the operation of network
computer 300. It will be appreciated that this component may
include a general-purpose operating system such as a version of
UNIX, or Linux.RTM., or a specialized operating system such as
Microsoft Corporation's Windows.RTM. operating system, or the Apple
Corporation's macOS.RTM. operating system. The operating system may
include, or interface with a Java virtual machine module that
enables control of hardware components or operating system
operations via Java application programs. Likewise, other runtime
environments may be included.
[0119] Memory 304 may further include one or more data storage 310,
which can be utilized by network computer 300 to store, among other
things, applications 320 or other data. For example, data storage
310 may also be employed to store information that describes
various capabilities of network computer 300. The information may
then be provided to another device or computer based on any of a
variety of methods, including being sent as part of a header during
a communication, sent upon request, or the like. Data storage 310
may also be employed to store social networking information
including address books, buddy lists, aliases, user profile
information, or the like. Data storage 310 may further include
program code, data, algorithms, and the like, for use by a
processor, such as processor 302 to execute and perform actions
such as those actions described below. In one embodiment, at least
some of data storage 310 might also be stored on another component
of network computer 300, including, but not limited to,
non-transitory media inside processor-readable removable storage
device 336, processor-readable stationary storage device 334, or
any other computer-readable storage device within network computer
300, or even external to network computer 300. Data storage 310 may
include, for example, capture data store 312, session key storage
314, protocol information 316, or the like. In some embodiments,
capture data store 312 may be a data store that stores captured
packets or related information. In some embodiments, session key
store 314 may be data store for storing cryptographic session key.
And, in some embodiments, protocol information 316 may store
various rules or configuration information related to one or more
network communication protocols, including application protocols,
secure communication protocols, client-server protocols,
peer-to-peer protocols, shared file system protocols, protocol
state machines, or the like, that may be employed for protocol
analysis, entity auto-discovery, anomaly detection, or the like, in
a monitored network environment.
[0120] Applications 320 may include computer executable
instructions which, when executed by network computer 300,
transmit, receive, or otherwise process messages (e.g., SMS,
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Instant Message (IM), email, or
other messages), audio, video, and enable telecommunication with
another user of another mobile computer. Other examples of
application programs include calendars, search programs, email
client applications, IM applications, SMS applications, Voice Over
Internet Protocol (VOIP) applications, contact managers, task
managers, transcoders, database programs, word processing programs,
security applications, spreadsheet programs, games, search
programs, and so forth. Applications 320 may include network
monitoring engine 322, packet capture engine 324, crypto provider
engine 326, secret sharing engine 327, or the like, that may be
arranged to perform actions for embodiments described below. In one
or more of the various embodiments, one or more of the applications
may be implemented as modules or components of another application.
Further, in one or more of the various embodiments, applications
may be implemented as operating system extensions, modules,
plugins, or the like.
[0121] Furthermore, in one or more of the various embodiments,
network monitoring engine 322, packet capture engine 324, crypto
provider engine 326, secret sharing engine 327, or the like, may be
operative in a cloud-based computing environment. In one or more of
the various embodiments, these applications, and others, that
comprise a network monitoring computer may be executing within
virtual machines or virtual servers that may be managed in a
cloud-based based computing environment. In one or more of the
various embodiments, in this context the applications may flow from
one physical network computer within the cloud-based environment to
another depending on performance and scaling considerations
automatically managed by the cloud computing environment. Likewise,
in one or more of the various embodiments, virtual machines or
virtual servers dedicated to network monitoring engine 322, packet
capture engine 324, crypto provider engine 326, secret sharing
engine 327, or the like, may be provisioned and de-commissioned
automatically.
[0122] Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, network
monitoring engine 322, honeypot engine 324, classification engine
326, web services 329, or the like, may be located in virtual
servers running in a cloud-based computing environment rather than
being tied to one or more specific physical network computers.
Likewise, in some embodiments, one or more of network monitoring
engine 322, packet capture engine 324, crypto provider engine 326,
secret sharing engine 327, or the like, may be configured to
execute in a container-based environment.
[0123] Further, network computer 300 may also comprise hardware
security module (HSM) 360 for providing additional tamper resistant
safeguards for generating, storing or using security/cryptographic
information such as, keys, digital certificates, passwords,
passphrases, two-factor authentication information, or the like. In
some embodiments, hardware security module may be employed to
support one or more standard public key infrastructures (PKI), and
may be employed to generate, manage, or store keys pairs, or the
like. In some embodiments, HSM 360 may be a stand-alone network
computer, in other cases, HSM 360 may be arranged as a hardware
card that may be installed in a network computer.
[0124] Additionally, in one or more embodiments (not shown in the
figures), network computer 300 may include one or more embedded
logic hardware devices instead of CPUs, such as, an Application
Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field Programmable Gate Array
(FPGA), Programmable Array Logic (PAL), or the like, or combination
thereof. The embedded logic hardware device may directly execute
its embedded logic to perform actions. Also, in one or more
embodiments (not shown in the figures), the network computer may
include one or more hardware microcontrollers instead of CPUs. In
one or more embodiments, the one or more microcontrollers may
directly execute their own embedded logic to perform actions and
access their own internal memory and their own external Input and
Output Interfaces (e.g., hardware pins or wireless transceivers) to
perform actions, such as System On a Chip (SOC), or the like.
Illustrative Logical System Architecture
[0125] FIG. 4 illustrates a logical architecture of system 400 for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in with one or more of the
various embodiments. System 400 may be arranged to include a
plurality of network devices or network computers on first network
402 and a plurality of network devices or network computers on
second network 404. In this example. communication between the
first network and the second network is managed by switch 406.
Also, NMC 408 may be arranged to passively monitor or record
packets (network traffic) that are communicated in network flows
between network devices or network computers on first network 402
and second network 404. For example, the communication of flows of
packets between the Host B network computer and the Host A network
computer are managed by switch 406 and NMC 408 may be passively
monitoring and recording some or all of the network traffic
comprising these flows.
[0126] NMC 408 may be arranged to receive network communication for
monitoring through a variety of means including network taps,
wireless receivers, port mirrors or directed tunnels from network
switches, clients or servers including the endpoints themselves,
virtual machine, cloud computing instances, other network
infrastructure devices, or the like, or combination thereof. In at
least some of the various embodiments, the NMC may receive a copy
of each packet on a particular network segment or virtual local
area network (VLAN). Also, for at least some of the various
embodiments, NMCs may receive these packet copies through a port
mirror on a managed Ethernet switch, e.g., a Switched Port Analyzer
(SPAN) port, or a Roving Analysis Port (RAP). Port mirroring
enables analysis and debugging of network communications. Port
mirroring can be performed for inbound or outbound traffic (or
both) on single or multiple interfaces. For example, in some
embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to receive electronic signals
over or via a physical hardware sensor that passively receives taps
into the electronic signals that travel over the physical wires of
one or more networks.
[0127] FIG. 5 illustrates a logical schematic of system 500 for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with one or more
of the various embodiments. In one or more of the various
embodiments, an NMC, such as NMC 502 may be arranged to monitor
network traffic in one or more networks, such as, network 504,
network 506, or network 508. In this example, network 504, network
506, or network 508 may be considered similar to network 108 or
network 110. Also, in some embodiments, one or more of network 504,
network 506, or network 508 may be considered cloud computing
environments. Likewise, in some embodiments, one or more of network
504, network 506, or network 508 may be considered remote data
centers, local data centers, co-location computing environments, or
the like, or combination thereof.
[0128] In one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs, such as NMC
502 may be arranged to communicate with one or more capture agents,
such as, capture agent 512, capture agent 514, or capture agent
514. In some embodiments, capture agents may be arranged to
selectively capture network traffic or collect network traffic
metrics that may be provided to NMC 502 for additional
analysis.
[0129] In one or more of the various embodiments, capture agents
may be NMCs that are distributed in various networks or cloud
environments. For example, in some embodiments, a simplified system
may include one or more NMCs that also provide capture agent
services. In some embodiments, capture agents may be NMCs arranged
to instantiate one or more capture engines to perform one or more
capture or collection actions. Similarly, in one or more of the
various embodiments, one or more capture agents may be instantiated
or hosted separately from one or more NMCs.
[0130] In one or more of the various embodiments, capture agents
may be selectively installed such that they may capture metrics for
selected portions of the monitored networks. Also, in some
embodiments, in networks that have groups or clusters of the same
or similar entities, capture agents may be selectively installed on
one or more entities that may be representative of entire groups or
clusters of similar entities. Thus, in some embodiments, capture
agents on the representative entities may collect metrics or
traffic that may be used to infer the metrics or activity
associated with similarly situated entities that do not include a
capture agent.
[0131] Likewise, in one or more of the various embodiments, one or
more capture agents may be installed or activated for a limited
time period to collect information that may be used to infer
activity information about the monitored networks. Accordingly, in
one or more of the various embodiments, these one or more capture
agents may be removed or de-activated if sufficient activity
information or network traffic has been collected.
[0132] In one or more of the various embodiments, system 500 may
include one or more network entities, such as, entities 518,
entities 520, or the like, that communicate in or over one or more
of the monitored networks. Entities 518 and entities 520 are
illustrated here as cloud environment compute instances (e.g.,
virtual machines), or the like. However, one of ordinary skill in
the art will appreciate that entities may be considered to be
various network computers, network appliances, routers, switches,
applications, services, containers, or the like, subject to network
monitoring by one or more NMCs. (See, FIG. 4, as well).
[0133] In this example, for one or more of the various embodiments,
capture agents, such as capture agent 512 may be arranged capture
network traffic or network traffic metrics associated with one or
more entities, such as, entities 518. Accordingly, in some
embodiments, some or all of the information captured by capture
agents may be provided to one or more NMCs, such as, NMC 502 for
additional analysis. Also, in one or more of the various
embodiments, capture agents or NMCs may be arranged to selectively
store network traffic in a captured data store, such as, captured
data store 522.
[0134] FIG. 6 illustrates a logical architecture of system 600 for
monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with at least
one of the various embodiments. In at least one of the various
embodiments, system 600 may comprise client computer 602,
application server computer 604, network monitoring device 606,
optionally, hardware security module 608, packet capture data store
610, key information escrow 612, authentication control server 614,
or the like.
[0135] In at least one of the various embodiments, client computer
602 may be a computer that has one or more applications that may be
arranged to securely communicate with application server computer
604 over network path 614. Secure communication may be comprised of
one or more cryptographically secure network communication
protocols that employ centralized key management, including,
Kerberos, or the like. For example, in some embodiments, client
computer 602 may be hosting a web browser that is securely
accessing a website that is served by a web server running on
application server computer 604. Another non-limiting example may
include client computer 602 accessing an application running on
application server computer 604 over a secure network. As described
above, NMC 606 may be arranged to passively monitor the network
packets passing through network path 614. Accordingly, NMC 606 may
be arranged to monitor the network traffic comprising communication
between client computer 602 and application server computer
604.
[0136] In one or more of the various embodiments, secured network
traffic may include traffic based on protocols that embed or wrap a
security protocol that relies on centralized key management.
Accordingly, in some embodiments, one or more portions of the
monitored network traffic may remain unencrypted with one or more
other portions of the network traffic secured by the centralized
security protocol. For example, in some embodiments, the network
traffic may be exchanged using HTTP with the payload or data
portions of the network traffic encrypted using the centralized
security protocol. Thus, for example, some or all of the headers or
fields comprising HTTP requests or HTTP responses may be in the
clear while the payloads may be encrypted.
[0137] In at least one of the various embodiments, application
server computer 604 may employ a network hardware security module,
such as, HSM 608 to provide one or more cryptographic services that
may be employed to perform secure communication with client
computer 602. For example, HSM 608 may be used to generate or store
cryptographic keys (including session keys) for establishing secure
communication with clients, such as, client computer 602.
[0138] In at least one of the various embodiments, client
applications and server applications running on client computers,
such as, client computer 602 and/or server computers, such as,
server computer 604 may be arranged to employ one or more
centralized security protocols to exchange secure communications
over networks, including network path 614. Centralized security
protocols may define handshake protocols, authentication protocols,
key exchange protocols, or the like, or combination thereof, that
implement the secure communication between the clients and servers.
Accordingly, in at least one of the various embodiments, the
centralized security protocols may include using one or more
control keys, authentication keys, client keys, server keys,
session keys, server session key, or the like, to encrypt or
decrypt the communication traffic. Thus, in at least one of the
various embodiments, if a secure/authenticated session is
established between a client and a server, an NMC, such as, NMC 606
may require a session key to decrypt portions of the encrypted
network packets that may be communicated over the secure
communication channel. For example, if a client application running
on client computer 602 establishes a secure session with a server
application running on server computer 604, NMC 606 may require key
information, such as, authentication keys, client keys, server
keys, session keys, or the like, to decrypt the secure network
traffic to perform monitoring and analysis of the contents of the
packets in comprising the secure network traffic.
[0139] In some cases, NMC 606 may be able to derive and/or generate
a session key by passively monitoring some or all of the handshake
information that may be exchanged between the authentication
control server 614, client 602, and application server computer
604. In some embodiments, NMCs may be configured to integrate or
otherwise share information with authentication control servers
that may be enabled to decrypt some or all of the handshake
information exchanged between authentication control servers,
clients, or servers. Accordingly, in some embodiments, NMCs may be
arranged to monitor the one or more portions of the handshake
process used to establish a secure session as well as both
directions of the secure communications between clients or
servers.
[0140] However, in some cases, NMCs may be disabled monitoring one
or more portions of the handshake protocol. For example, in some
embodiments, some organizations may restrict NMCs from having
direct access to one or more sensitive cryptographic keys, such as,
control keys, authentication keys, client keys, server keys,
session keys, or the like. Likewise, in some embodiments, NMCs may
be restricted to accessing portions of the exchanges between
clients or servers. Accordingly, in one or more of the various
embodiments, NMCs may be limited to capturing some portions of the
handshake information or some portions of the exchanged secure
communications. Note, in most circumstances, restricting NMC access
to keys, handshake information, or the like, may disable the NMCs
from decrypting some or all of the monitored traffic. However, in
some embodiments, the NMCs may remain enabled to monitor one or
more observable traffic features such as packet sizes, packet
sources, packet targets, send/receive rates, request/response dwell
times, or the like. Further, in some embodiments, if the secure
traffic may be wrapped or included by another protocol, NMCs may be
arranged to monitor unencrypted portions of the wrapping protocols.
Likewise, in some embodiments, if the traffic secured by the
centralized security protocol may be wrapped (transported) using
another secure protocol, the NMCs may be arranged to decrypt the
secure transport protocol to determine the portions of the traffic
that that may be encrypted using the centralized security
protocol.
[0141] In some embodiments, if NMC 606 is unable to obtain or
derive key information using passive monitoring, one or more of
client computer 602, server computer 604, or hardware security
module 608, may be arranged to provide or communicate key
information associated with a secure session to NMC 606. In such
cases, if a secure session may be established, an authentication
control server may provide key information to an NMC, such as NMC
606.
[0142] In at least one of the various embodiments, NMC 606 may be
arranged to request the key information from authentication control
servers, clients, servers, or the like, if it has observed and
determined that the cryptographic handshake between the client and
server has finished. In at least one of the various embodiments,
authentication control servers may be arranged to communicate
(e.g., push) key information to NMCs after secure communication
sessions have been established.
[0143] In at least one of the various embodiments, there may be a
time gap between when a client and server establish a secure
communication session and when the NMC is provided a session key.
Accordingly, in at least one of the various embodiments, NMCs may
be arranged to buffer some or all of the secure communication
traffic until a session key for the secure communication channel
may be determined. If a session key is provided to the NMC or
determined by the NMC, the NMC may first decrypt the buffered
encrypted data and then decrypt the secure communication on the fly
as it is received by the NMC.
[0144] Note, in some embodiments, NMCs configured to passively
monitor network traffic may enable the network traffic between
clients or servers to pass through while it collects enough network
traffic or key information to decrypt the monitored network
traffic.
[0145] In at least one of the various embodiments, if the secure
communication traffic may be decrypted by an NMC, such as, NMC 606,
it may perform one or more monitoring or analysis actions based on
the decrypted contents of the secure communication. For example, in
some embodiments, such actions may include modifying the content,
tagging the traffic, applying a QoS policy, content switching,
load-balancing, or the like, depending one or more rule-based
policies.
[0146] In one or more of the various embodiments, an NMC, such as
NMC 606 may be arranged to capture packets for storing in a packet
capture data store, such as packet capture data store 610. In some
embodiments encrypted packets may be captured and stored. Likewise,
in some embodiments, un-encrypted packets may be captured by NMC
606 and stored in packet capture data store 610.
[0147] In one or more of the various embodiments, key escrow 612
may be a data store arranged to store cryptographic keys,
cryptographic key information, or the like. In one or more of the
various embodiments, secret sharing engines, such as secret sharing
engine 222 or secret sharing engine 327 may be arranged to
intercept and share the cryptographic keys, the key information,
handshake information, or the like. In some embodiments, secret
sharing engines may be arranged to store the cryptographic
information in key escrow 612. In one or more of the various
embodiments, the cryptographic information stored in key escrow 612
may be used to decrypt captured encrypted packets at a later
time.
[0148] In one or more of the various embodiments, secret sharing
engines may be arranged to communicate with NMCs to enable
correlation information to be associated with the cryptographic key
information. For example, NMC 606 may be arranged to obtain key
information from the secret sharing engine. Accordingly, NMC 608
may determine the correlation information that correlates the
communication session with the key information. Thus, in this
example, NMC 606 may store the key information with the relevant
correlation information in the key escrow 612.
[0149] In one or more of the various embodiments, a secret sharing
engine may be arranged to determine the correlation information on
its own. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the secret sharing
engine may store the correlation information and the key
information in a key escrow such as key escrow 612.
[0150] In one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs, such as NMC
606 may be arranged to decrypt monitored packets before they are
stored in packet capture data store 610. In other embodiments, the
NMC may be arranged to store or escrow the session key or other
keying information to enable later decryption of captured packets
rather than storing decrypted packets in packet capture data store
610. Also, in other embodiments, NMCs, such as NMC 606 may be
arranged to decrypt some or all of the packets in real-time to
enable network management policies to be applied based on the
content of the packets. Accordingly, in some embodiments, after
monitoring tasks are completed, the decrypted version of the
packets may be discarded and the encrypted versions may be stored
in the packet capture data store.
[0151] In one or more of the various embodiments, some or all of
the key information may be provided to NMC 606 inline or otherwise
included in network traffic communicated over network path 614. In
some embodiments, the secret sharing engines residing on the
computers participating in the secure communication session (e.g.,
client computer 602, application server computer 604, or the like)
may be arranged to share secrets inline by including key
information that includes some or all of the key information in one
or more fields or one or more packets of the secure communication
session established between client computer 602 or server computer
604. In some embodiments, the key information shared inline may be
included in the network flow(s) (e.g., network path 614) comprising
the secure communication session that is monitored by NMC 606.
Accordingly, in some embodiments, the key information may be
provided to NMC 606 during the secure handshake or other phases of
the secure communication session.
[0152] In one or more of the various embodiments, NMC 606 may be
arranged to detect and identify key information and extract the
actual key information included in the network packets exchanged
between clients and servers. In some embodiments, key information
not normally exchanged between clients and servers may be included
in the network packets by a secret sharing engine running on the
clients or servers. In one or more of the various embodiments, the
key information may be encrypted using a cryptographic key that is
known to the secret sharing engines and NMC 606 and unknown to
other applications involved in the secure communication session. In
some embodiment, secret sharing engines and NMCs may be arranged to
employ public key encryption to encrypt the key information.
[0153] For example, in some embodiments, a secret sharing engine on
client computer 602 may encrypt and add the key information to the
secure session traffic. Thus, in some embodiments, if NMC 606
receives the key information it may decrypt it for use as described
herein. Also, in some embodiments, NMC 606 may be arranged to
modify the network traffic to strip the key information from the
secure session traffic rather than forwarding it to application
server computer 604 or client computer 602 depending on the
direction of the communication flow.
[0154] Accordingly, in one or more of the various embodiments, one
or more NMCs may be arranged to internally modify the one or more
network packets by removing the key information from the one or
more network packets that are associated with the secure
communication session. Then the one or more NMCs may be arranged to
forward the modified one or more network packets to their next
destination, such that modified network packets to appear as if
they are non-modified.
[0155] For example, in one or more of the various embodiments,
secret sharing engine may be arranged to compute one or more CRCs,
hash values, sequence numbers, packet/message sizes, or the like,
for the handshake traffic or other secure traffic before the
encrypted key information is added to the secure session traffic or
handshake traffic. Accordingly, one or more of the pre-computed
CRCs, hash values, sequence numbers, packet/message sizes, or the
like, may be provided to the NMC along with the key information.
Then, in one or more of the various embodiments, one or more of the
precomputed CRCs, hash values, sequence numbers, packet/message
sizes, or the like, may be used to restore the network traffic
after the key information is removed from the network traffic.
[0156] FIG. 7 illustrates a logical architecture of computer 700
for monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with at
least one of the various embodiments. In one or more of the various
embodiments, as described above, a secret sharing engine may be
installed on computers to enable cryptographic key information to
be shared in line with an NMC. In one or more of the various
embodiments, computers, such as computer 700 may be arranged
include applications 702, secret sharing engine 704, operation
system 706, or the like. In one or more of the various embodiments,
operating system 706 may include one or more system libraries that
enable communication over network path 708 to other computers or
networks.
[0157] In one or more of the various embodiments, secret sharing
engine 704 may be disposed logically between applications 702 and
operating system 706. Accordingly, secret sharing engine 704 may be
arranged to passively observe secure requests or secure responses
to discover cryptographic secrets, including authentication keys,
client keys, server keys, or session keys that may be employed by
computer 700 to communicate with other computers.
[0158] Secret sharing engine 704 may be a process or service that
is arranged to communicate one or more cryptographic secrets, key
information, or the like, to one or more NMCs, such as, NMC 116
over network path 708. In some embodiments, the key information may
be shared inline during or as part of a secure connection
established between a client and a server. Further, in at least one
of the various embodiments, secret sharing engine 704 may be
arranged to be a plug-in of a web browser or other application.
Also, in at least one of the various embodiments, secret sharing
engine 704 may be embedded into cryptographic provider and/or a
plug-in associated with a cryptographic provider, such as
cryptographic provider 326.
[0159] In one or more of the various embodiments, secret sharing
engines, such as secret sharing engine 704, secret sharing engine
224, secret sharing engine 327, or the like, may be arranged to
provide system library interfaces that mimic standard interfaces to
enable client applications that expect standard or common
interfaces to operate without modification.
[0160] In one or more of the various embodiments, a secret sharing
engine may be arranged to integrate with network service pipelines
that may be supported by the host operating system or system
libraries. For example, some operating systems may be arranged to
enable authorized programs, drivers, or modules (e.g., kernel level
services, Windows WDM drivers, Windows Kernel Mode Drivers, or the
like) to be inserted into a network service pipeline.
[0161] In one or more of the various embodiments, a secret sharing
engine may be arranged to enable client applications to explicitly
make calls to the secret sharing engine. Accordingly, in one or
more of the various embodiments, the client application may
expressly control or direct the sharing of cryptographic
secrets.
[0162] In one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs or secret
sharing engines may be arranged to integrate directly with
authentication control servers. In some embodiments, authentication
control servers may be configured to share secrets or other keying
information with NMCs directly via APIs or interfaces provided by
the NMCs. Similarly, in some embodiments, NMCs or secret sharing
engines may be arranged to communicate with authentication control
servers via APIs or interfaces provided by the authentication
control servers.
[0163] In one or more of the various embodiments, secret sharing
engines may be arranged to employ protocol information to determine
how to extract or collect secrets or keying information. For
example, in some embodiments, protocol information, such as,
protocol information 316, or the like, may include rules, patterns,
state machines, or the like, for identifying protocols or tracking
the state/steps of a secure session. Thus, in some embodiments,
protocol information may be employed to determine if handshakes
have been completed, or the like.
[0164] FIG. 8 illustrates a logical sequence diagram representation
of sequence 800 for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with one or more of the various embodiments. In one or
more of the various embodiments, sequence 800 illustrates network
traffic exchanged by a client and a server with an NMC (e.g., NMC
408, NMC 502, NMC 606, or the like) arranged to monitor both
directions of the network traffic.
[0165] At step 802, in one or more of the various embodiments, a
client may intend to establish a secure connection with one or more
resources in a monitored network. In some embodiments, the
resources may be hosted or provided by one or more services or
servers, for brevity and clarity, clients may be described as
trying to establish a connection/session with a server even though
a server may host or provide more than one services or resources
that may be secured independently.
[0166] In one or more of the various embodiments, the services,
applications, operating systems, or the like, on clients or servers
may be configured to employ one or more centralized security
protocols. In some embodiments, clients configured to employ
centralized security protocols may be provided client keys for the
centralized security protocol in advance of using the centralized
security protocol. Accordingly, in some embodiments, authentication
control servers may be arranged to distribute client keys to
clients enabled to access servers protected by the centralized
security protocol. In some embodiments, various conventional or
customized secure key distribution facilities may be employed to
distribute unique client keys to clients. Similarly, in some
embodiments, authentication control servers may provide server keys
to servers in the protected network.
[0167] In one or more of the various embodiments, the client may be
arranged to generate an authentication request that includes
initialization information required by the centralized security
protocol. In some embodiments, this may include identity
information (e.g., username, service name, or the like), time/date
of message, or the like. In some embodiments, the specific
information may vary depending on the particular centralized
security protocol or organization policies.
[0168] Further, in one or more of the various embodiments, clients
may be arranged to encrypt one or more secrets using their client
key. In some embodiments, the secret may be a timestamp
corresponding to the time step 802 may be performed by the
client.
[0169] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the client may generate an
authentication request that includes the initialization information
and the encrypted secret. In some embodiments, the client may be
arranged to send the authentication request to an authentication
control server that may be protecting the servers the client may be
attempting to access.
[0170] At step 804, in one or more of the various embodiments, an
NMC may be arranged to passively intercept the authentication
request sent by the client.
[0171] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the NMC has
access the client key it may decrypt the portion of the request
that has been encrypted using the client key.
[0172] In one or more of the various embodiments, the NMC may be
arranged to evaluate one or more characteristics of the request to
determine if it conforms to the centralized security protocol or
one or more security policies associated with the centralized
security protocol or the client.
[0173] For example, in some embodiments, if the NMC has the client
key, it may maintain an index that maps client identifiers (e.g.,
IP addresses, MAC addresses, user information, or the like) to
client keys. In this example, the NMC may be configured to
determine if the characteristics of the client sending the
authentication request is the client associated with the client
key.
[0174] Similarly, for example, in some embodiments, NMCs may be
arranged to evaluate one or more open (non-secured) characteristics
of the authentication request to determine other anomalies, such
as, unexpected time of the request, packet size inconsistencies,
timing inconsistencies, or the like. Thus, in some embodiments,
NMCs may be arranged to evaluate authentication request even if the
NMCs are disabled from accessing client keys.
[0175] In some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to decrypt or
decode one or more portions the authentication request depending on
the access level or authorization level that has been granted to
the NMC. Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, one or
more agents operative (e.g., secret sharing engines) on the client
computer or elsewhere may be arranged to communicate some or all of
the information included in the authentication request directly to
the NMC.
[0176] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to
store one or more values or metrics associated with the client to
enable it map or otherwise correlate subsequent encrypted or
unencrypted network traffic with the client.
[0177] At step 806, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
authentication request may be provided to the authentication
control server.
[0178] In one or more of the various embodiments, the
authentication control server may be arranged to decrypt the
secrets provided by the client using the client key that the
authentication control server has stored. In some embodiments, if
the secret encrypted by the client is a timestamp, the
authentication control server may be arranged to compare the
decrypted timestamp value to the current time to evaluate if the
authentication request is valid.
[0179] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the
authentication request may be validated, the authentication control
server may be arranged to generate an authentication response. In
some embodiments, the authentication response may include two or
more portions. In one or more of the various embodiments, one
client portion may include information that enables clients to
determine if they are communicating with the proper authentication
control server. For example, in some embodiments, a portion of the
authentication response may include identity/name of the
authentication control server, a timestamp corresponding when the
authentication control server generated the authentication
response, an expiration date and a session key.
[0180] Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
authentication control server may be arranged to generate an
authentication portion of the authentication response that may be
considered an authentication key that includes values such as,
client/user ID, authentication control server name/ID, a timestamp,
network address of the client, an expiration date, the session key,
or the like. Note, the session key included in the client portion
and the session key included in the authentication portion may be
considered to be the same key or otherwise have the same value.
[0181] In one or more of the various embodiments, authentication
control server may be arranged to encrypt the client portion of the
response authentication response using the client key that it has
stored. Similarly, in some embodiments, the authentication control
server may be arranged to encrypt the authentication portion of the
authentication response using its own control key.
[0182] In one or more of the various embodiments, the
authentication control server may be arranged to send the
authentication response to the client.
[0183] At step 808, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
NMC may be arranged to observe the authentication response. In some
embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to decrypt or decode one or
more portions the authentication response depending on the access
level or authorization level that has been granted to the NMC.
Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, one or more agents
operative on the authentication control server or elsewhere may be
arranged to communicate some or all of the information included in
the authentication response directly to the NMC.
[0184] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to
store one or more values or metrics associated with the session
that enable it map or otherwise correlate subsequent encrypted or
unencrypted network traffic with the client or the server.
[0185] At step 810, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
client may receive the authentication response from the
authentication control server.
[0186] In one or more of the various embodiments, the client may be
arranged to decrypt the client portion of the authentication
response because it was encrypted using the client key.
Accordingly, in one or more of the various embodiments, the client
may decrypt the authentication response to obtain to a session key.
According to the centralized security protocol, the client may
store the session key locally for future use.
[0187] In one or more of the various embodiments, the client may
also keep a copy of the authentication portion of the response
which serves as the authentication key. In some embodiments, the
client may be disabled from decrypting the authentication key
because it was encrypted by the authentication control server using
a control key that is not available to the client.
[0188] In some embodiments, an agent (e.g., secret sharing engine)
running on the client may be arranged to intercept or otherwise
acquire one or more of the session key or the authentication key to
provide to the NMC. In some embodiments, agents may be arranged to
provide additional information, such as, one or more portions of
the authentication response, one or more metrics, log information,
one or more timestamps, or the like, to the NMC. Accordingly, in
one or more of the various embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to
associate the information provided by the agent with the client,
server, or the session.
[0189] In some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to evaluate one
or more characteristics of the authentication response or its
contents to determine if the session or its associated traffic
conforms to one or more security policies.
[0190] In one or more of the various embodiments, clients may store
the session key and the authentication key until they may be needed
for accessing resources secured by the authentication control
server.
[0191] At step 812, in some embodiments, the client may prepare an
access request that asks the authentication control server to
authenticate that the client has permission to access the
server.
[0192] Similar to other messages generated by the authentication
control server, the access request may include two or more
portions.
[0193] In some embodiments, a server portion of the access request
may include the name or identifier of the server the client wants
to access, the authentication key, or the like. In some
embodiments, additional information may include timestamps,
expiration time of the authorization if granted, or the like.
[0194] In some embodiments, another portion of the access request
may include an authenticator portion that includes a client/user
ID, timestamp, or the like.
[0195] In one or more of the various embodiments, the client may
encrypt the authenticator portion using the session key. In
contrast, in some embodiments, the server portion may remain
unencrypted. However, in some embodiments, the server portion may
include the authentication key which remains encrypted.
[0196] Note, in some embodiments, the transport protocol used to
communicate between the client and authentication control server
may encrypt some or all of the access request. However, here it may
be assumed that the encryption actions associated with securing the
transport protocol (if any) may be unrelated to the centralized
security protocol.
[0197] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the access
request is generated, the client may send it to authentication
control server.
[0198] Note, in some embodiments, an agent running on the client
may be arranged to intercept or otherwise acquire one or more
portions of the access request to provide to the NMC. In some
embodiments, agents may be arranged to provide additional
information, such as, one or more metrics, log information, one or
more timestamps, or the like, to the NMC. Accordingly, in one or
more of the various embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to
associate the information provided by the agent with the client,
server, or the session.
[0199] In some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to evaluate one
or more characteristics of the response message or its contents to
determine if the session or its associated traffic conforms to one
or more security policies.
[0200] At step 814, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
NMC may be arranged to observe the some or all of network traffic
that communicates the access request to the authentication control
server.
[0201] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the NMC has
access to the session key it may decrypt the server portion of the
access request to monitor the exchange. Likewise, in some
embodiments, if the NMC has access to the control key it may
decrypt the authentication key to monitor the exchange.
[0202] In some embodiments, if the NMC does not have the control
key which may be considered too sensitive to distribute, the NMC
may compare the authentication key that was provided via previous
messages with the authentication key included in the access
request.
[0203] Also, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to ensure
the characteristics, fields, values, or the like, that are visible
to it conform to one or more policies.
[0204] At step 816, in some embodiments, the authentication control
server may receive the access request. In some embodiments, the
authentication control server may be arranged to decrypt the
authentication key provided in the access request to obtain the
session key. Thus, in some embodiments, if the session key from the
authentication key enables the authenticator sent by the client to
be decoded, the authentication control server may be arranged to
confirm that the session key included in the authentication key
matches the session key included in the authenticator.
[0205] In this example, the authenticator includes a user ID and a
timestamp. Thus, if the user ID stored in the authenticate key
matches the user ID stored in the decrypted authenticator, the
authentication control server may assume that it is a known client
that has sent the access request. For example, in some embodiments,
if a client uses a session key that is not included in the
authentication key, the decryption of the authenticator will fail
providing at least a user ID mismatch.
[0206] Accordingly, the authentication control server may perform
various actions associated with enforcing the centralized security
protocol, including determining if the client has access to the
requested resource.
[0207] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the
authentication control server determines that the client has access
to the server, it may generate a server session key based on the
server's secret key.
[0208] Accordingly, in one or more of the various embodiments, if
the authentication control server determines that the client has
access to the requested server, it may generate an access response
that includes two or more portions, one or more portions may be
encrypted with the session key and one or more other portions may
be encrypted with the server key that corresponds to the server the
client is requesting to access. Note, in this example, the
authentication control server has access to secret keys for all of
the entities (e.g., users, clients, servers, resources, services,
or the like) it may be responsible for securing.
[0209] In some embodiments, a client portion of the access response
may include various fields including, the name or ID of the server
the client may be attempting to access, a timestamp, an expiration
date/time, and the service session key. Further, in some
embodiments, the authentication control server may encrypt the
client portion of the access response using the session key.
[0210] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the authentication control
server may send the access response to the client.
[0211] At step 818, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
NMC may be arranged to observe the some or all of network traffic
that communicates the access response to the client.
[0212] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the NMC has
access to the session key it may decrypt the client portion of the
access response to monitor the exchange. Likewise, in some
embodiments, if the NMC has access to the server secret key it may
decrypt the server portion of the access response to monitor the
exchange.
[0213] Also, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to ensure
the characteristics, fields, values, or the like, that are visible
to it conform to one or more policies.
[0214] At step 820, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
client receives the access response from the authentication control
server.
[0215] In one or more of the various embodiments, the client may
decrypt the client portion of the access response using its copy of
the session key that includes the server session key.
[0216] At step 822, in some embodiments, the client may generate
server request intended for sending to the server. In some
embodiments, the server request may include two or more portions,
including a client authenticator portion and a server portion. In
some embodiments, the authenticator portion may include the
user/client name or ID, a timestamp, or the like. In some
embodiments, additional fields may be included depending on the
particular centralized security protocol. In some embodiments, the
authenticator portion may be encrypted using the service session
key provided by the authentication control server.
[0217] In one or more of the various embodiments, another portion
of the server request may include the portion of the access
response message the was encrypted with the server's secret
key.
[0218] In some embodiments, the server request may be embedded or
included in another protocol, such as, the application level
protocol used to communicate with the request resources. In one or
more of the various embodiments, the particular mechanism or
facilities for used within the application protocols may vary
depending on the particular protocol used for exchanging network
traffic.
[0219] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the client may send the
server request to the server.
[0220] At step 824, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
NMC may be arranged to observe the some or all of network traffic
that communicates the server request to the server.
[0221] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the NMC has
access to the service session key it may decrypt the authenticator
portion of the server request to monitor the exchange. Likewise, in
some embodiments, if the NMC has access to the server secret key it
may decrypt the server portion of the server request to monitor the
exchange.
[0222] Also, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to ensure
the characteristics, fields, values, or the like, that are visible
to it conform to one or more policies.
[0223] At step 826, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
server may receive the server request.
[0224] Accordingly, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
server may decrypt the server portion of the server request message
to obtain the server session key. In some embodiments, the server
may employ the server session key to decrypt the authenticator to
validate the server request.
[0225] In some embodiments, if the server has validated the server
request, it may determine if the client/user has access to
resources it may be requesting. Note, in some embodiments, this may
be the responsibility of the server operating system or other
applications associated with the services or resources the client
may be requesting to access. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the
centralized security protocol may be relied on to reliably
authenticate the identity of the client making the request.
However, in some embodiments, it may be the responsibly of other
services or applications to determine if the client may be
authorized to access the requested resources or services.
[0226] In some embodiments, the server request (from the client)
may be embedded or included in another protocol, such as, the
application level protocol used to communicate with the request
resources. In one or more of the various embodiments, the
particular mechanism or facilities used within the application
protocols may vary depending the particular protocol.
[0227] In some embodiments, if the client has been authenticated
and determined to be authorized to access the requested service or
resource, the server may generate a server response that includes a
service authenticator that includes the service/resource name or
ID, a timestamp, or one or more optional values.
[0228] In one or more of the various embodiments, the server
response may be encrypted using the service session key and send to
the client.
[0229] At step 828, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
NMC may be arranged to observe the some or all of network traffic
that communicates the server response to the client.
[0230] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the NMC has
access to the service session key it may decrypt the authenticator
portion of the server response to monitor the exchange.
[0231] Also, in some embodiments, the NMC may be arranged to ensure
the characteristics, fields, values, or the like, that are visible
to it conform to one or more policies.
[0232] At step 830, in one or more of the various embodiments, the
client may decrypt the server authenticator portion of the server
response using the service session key it previously obtained at
step 820 enabling the client to validate that the server response
was sent by the correct server.
[0233] Accordingly, in some embodiments, further communication
between client and the server may proceed similarly by including
centralized security protocol authenticator portion with each
subsequent request/response.
[0234] FIG. 9 illustrates a logical representation of table 900
that a NMC may employ to associate control keys, authentication
keys, session keys, server keys, service session keys, or other key
information with particular communication sessions, secure
connections, or network flows in accordance with one or more of
various embodiments. In at least one of the various embodiments,
table 900 may be implemented using one or more data structures,
such as, lists, arrays, associative arrays, or the like, or
combination thereof. Furthermore, one of ordinary skill in the art
will appreciate that other data structures or table arrangements
are within the scope of the innovations described herein. However,
the description of table 900 is at least sufficient to enable one
or ordinary skill in the art to practice the innovations described
herein.
[0235] In at least one of the various embodiments, some or all of
the information represented by table 900 may be stored in capture
data store 312, key escrow 314, or the like, on a network computer,
such as network computer 300. In some embodiments, table 900 may be
stored in the working memory of a NMC and used during real-time
monitoring of network packets.
[0236] In at least one of the various embodiments, column 902 of
table 900 may contain a value that corresponds to a particular
network connection, network flow, communication channel, or the
like. The NMC may be arranged to index, key, or otherwise identify
each network flow that it is monitoring. In at least one of the
various embodiments, column 904 may include a session key or other
key information that is associated with a secure network flow. The
session key may correspond to a session established between
clients, servers, authentication control servers, or the like, that
may by occurring in a protected network.
[0237] In at least one of the various embodiments, column 906 may
include one or more types of correlation information that may be
associated with a network flow or session. The correlation
information value may be used in part to determine which network
flow a key corresponds to. In some embodiments, correlation
information may include one or more of tuple information associated
with a communication session, some or all of the handshake
information, one or more other network characteristics associated
with the communication session, or the like. In some embodiments,
column 908 may contain one or more fields of additional data that
may be associated with a network flow. Column 908 represents
additional information or metrics that may be collected or
associated with a given network flow.
[0238] In one or more of the various embodiments, a flow identifier
(e.g., values in column 902) may be based on the flow tuple
information associated with a secure network flow or secure network
connection. In some embodiments, a flow identifier may be generated
by using a hash of some or all of the tuple information for a flow.
For example, Flow ID=HashFunction (Source IP, Destination IP,
Source Port, Destination Port).
Generalized Operations
[0239] FIGS. 10-12 represent generalized operations for monitoring
encrypted network traffic in accordance with one or more of the
various embodiments. In one or more of the various embodiments,
processes 1000, 1100, and 1200 described in conjunction with FIGS.
10-12 may be implemented by or executed by one or more processors
on a single network computer (or network monitoring computer), such
as network computer 300 of FIG. 3. In other embodiments, these
processes, or portions thereof, may be implemented by or executed
on a plurality of network computers, such as network computer 300
of FIG. 3. In yet other embodiments, these processes, or portions
thereof, may be implemented by or executed on one or more
virtualized computers, such as, those in a cloud-based environment.
Also, in some embodiments, these processes, or portions thereof,
may be implemented by or executed on one or more virtualized
containers, such as, those in a container-based computing
environment. However, embodiments are not so limited and various
combinations of network computers, client computers, or the like
may be utilized. Further, in one or more of the various
embodiments, the processes described in conjunction with FIGS.
10-12 may be used for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with at least one of the various embodiments or
architectures such as those described in conjunction with FIGS.
4-9. Further, in one or more of the various embodiments, some or
all of the actions performed by processes 1000, 1100, and 1200 may
be executed in part by network monitoring engine 322, packet
capture engine 324, crypto provider engine 326, secret sharing
engine 327, or the like, running on one or more processors of one
or more network computers.
[0240] FIG. 10 illustrates an overview flowchart of process 1000
for monitoring encrypted network traffic in accordance with at
least one of the various embodiments. After a start block, at block
1002, in one or more of the various embodiments, a network
monitoring computer (NMC) may be arranged to monitor network
traffic on one or more networks as described above. As described
above, NMCs may be configured to monitor some or all of the traffic
in one or more monitored networks. Accordingly, in some
embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to monitor network traffic
associated with centralized security protocols that may occur in
the monitored networks.
[0241] In this example, for brevity and clarity, block 1002 is
illustrated with dashed lines connecting it to the other blocks in
the flowchart. This represents that the NMC can monitor the network
traffic associated with the other blocks. Accordingly, in some
embodiments, NMCs may perform one or more actions related to
monitoring encrypted network traffic before or after each
block.
[0242] At block 1004, in one or more of the various embodiments, an
authentication control server may authenticate a client. As
described above, clients may employ centralized security protocol
to authenticate themselves with the authentication control server
that may be protecting the network.
[0243] In one or more of the various embodiments, if the client is
authenticated, the authentication control server may provide it an
authentication key and session key that may be used for subsequent
centralized security protocol exchanges.
[0244] At decision block 1006, in one or more of the various
embodiments, if the authenticated client needs to access a
protected server, control may flow to block 1008; otherwise,
control may loop back to decision block 1006.
[0245] At block 1008, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the client may provide an access request message to the
authentication control server. In one or more of the various
embodiments, clients may request to access a particular server that
may be protected by the authentication control server. Accordingly,
in some embodiments, the client may employ authentication keys and
session key to construct an access request that conforms to the
centralized security protocol.
[0246] At block 1010, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the authentication control server may provide an access response
that includes authentication information that enables the client
the validate itself with the server. In some embodiments, the
authentication information may include, among other things, a
service session key that enables the client to validate itself with
the server the client may be requesting to access.
[0247] At block 1012, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the client may provide a server request to the server corresponding
to the authentication information. In one or more of the various
embodiments, the server request may include, among other things,
the service session key.
[0248] At block 1014, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the server may provide a server response that include
authentication information to the client. In one or more of the
various embodiments, the client may validate that the server
response is provided by the server it sent to the server request
using the service session key.
[0249] Next, in one or more of the various embodiments, control may
be returned to a calling process.
[0250] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of process 1100 for
authenticating clients for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with at least one of the various embodiments. After a
start block, at block 1102, in one or more of the various
embodiments, a client may send an authentication request to an
authentication control server.
[0251] Note, similar to process 1000 described above, an NMC may be
arranged to monitor the network traffic exchanged between clients
or servers. Also, in some embodiments, NMCs may be provided other
information from agents residing on clients or servers or via one
or more integration APIs. However, for brevity and clarity this
flowchart omits blocks showing the actions of the NMCs.
Accordingly, in some embodiments, NMC actions may be described in
or along with the blocks associated with the relevant NMC
actions.
[0252] As described above, clients may submit authentication
requests to authentication control servers at various times before
they request to access servers that may be protected by a
centralized security protocol. For example, in some embodiments, a
client may submit authentication requests if a user logs in at the
beginning of the workday.
[0253] In one or more of the various embodiments, the
authentication request may include information the client has
encrypted with its client key.
[0254] Accordingly, in one or more of the various embodiments,
depending on the configuration of the NMC and its access to the
client key, the NMC may be arranged to decrypt the portion(s) of
the authentication request that has been encrypted.
[0255] Alternatively, in some embodiments, an agent residing on the
client may communicate one or more values included in the
authentication request directly to the NMC. In some cases, this
information may include one or more of the client keys, client
names/IDs, user names/IDs, the client application name, or the
like.
[0256] As described above, the authentication request may include
various values depending on the particular centralized security
protocol being used as well as configuration information that may
define one or more optional/extra fields associated with a local
deployment of the centralized security protocol.
[0257] For example, for some embodiments, if the centralized
security protocol may be Kerberos or a Kerberos-like centralized
security protocol, the authentication request may include
information, such as, user/client name/ID, service name/ID, client
IP address, expiration time request, or the like. However, one of
ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that additional values
may be included depending the on how the centralized security
protocol is configured.
[0258] At block 1104, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the authentication control server may generate a session key and an
authentication key. As described above, the authentication control
server may employ its copy of the client key to validate the
authentication request based on decrypting the portion of the
request that the client encrypted with the client key.
[0259] As described above, the authentication key may include
various values depending on the particular centralized security
protocol being used as well as configuration information that may
define one or more optional/extra fields that a local deployment of
the centralized security protocol may be employing. In some
embodiments, the authentication information may be encrypted using
the authentication control server's control key. Accordingly, the
information that comprises the authentication key may be
hidden.
[0260] For example, for some embodiments, if the centralized
security protocol may be Kerberos or a Kerberos-like centralized
security protocol, the authentication key may include information,
such as, user name/ID, authentication control server name/ID, a
timestamp, an expiration time for the authentication key, the
session key, or the like. Accordingly, in this example, this
information may be encrypted using the authentication control
server's control key.
[0261] At block 1106, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the authentication control server may provide an authentication
response that includes a session key and authentication key to the
client.
[0262] In one or more of the various embodiments, the
authentication response may include a client portion as well as the
authentication key. In some embodiments, the client may include one
or more fields, including the session key, authentication control
server name/ID, a timestamp, expiration time information, or the
like. In one or more of the various embodiments, the authentication
control server may encrypt the client portion of the response using
the client key.
[0263] Accordingly, in some embodiments, the NMC may monitor the
network traffic associated with the authentication response. In one
or more of the various embodiments, if the NMC has the client key
it may decrypt the client portion of the authentication
response.
[0264] At block 1108, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the client may extract the session key and authentication key from
the authentication response provided by the authentication control
server. As described above, the authentication key may be
cryptographically opaque to the client because it may be a data
structure that has been encrypted by the authentication control
server using its control key. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the
client may store the authentication key for future use.
[0265] Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, the session
key may be extracted by decrypting a client portion of the message
that includes the session key using the client key. Accordingly,
the client may store the session key for future use.
[0266] In some embodiments, an agent running on the client may be
arranged to provide one or more portions of the authentication
response, such as, the session key, the authentication key,
timestamps, expiration data, authentication control server name/ID,
or the like, to the NMC.
[0267] At block 1110, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the client may employ the authentication key and the session key to
access protected servers. As described herein, the clients may
provide access requests for accessing particular protected
servers.
[0268] Next, in one or more of the various embodiments, control may
be returned to a calling process.
[0269] FIG. 12 illustrates a flowchart of process 1200 for
authenticating clients for monitoring encrypted network traffic in
accordance with at least one of the various embodiments. After a
start block, at block 1202, in one or more of the various
embodiments, an NMC may be arranged to monitor network traffic that
may be associated with one or more centralized security
protocols.
[0270] At block 1204, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the NMC may be arranged to collect clear-text metrics/information
associated the monitored network traffic. In some embodiments, in
most circumstances, NMCs may be arranged to collect various metrics
associated with centralized security protocol network traffic. In
one or more of the various embodiments, one or more metrics may be
based on monitoring centralized security protocol network traffic
even if the NMC has no access to authentication keys, client keys,
session keys, services, or the like. Similarly, in some
embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to collect some metrics in the
absence of agents or integration with an authentication control
server keys.
[0271] Accordingly, in some embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to
generate metrics based on one or more the centralized security
protocol network traffic that may be unencrypted (e.g., "in the
clear"). In some embodiments, the one or more portions may include
tuple information, one or more fields associated with transport
protocols used to carry the centralized security protocol network
traffic, one or more fields associated with
applications/application protocols that may employ the centralized
security protocol for authentication, source of the network
traffic, destination of the network traffic, timing/latency
information, packet size information, packet send rate,
routing/proxying/pathing information associated with the
centralized security protocol network traffic, or the like.
[0272] In one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs may be
arranged to associate the one or more metrics with the network
traffic flows associated with the centralized security protocol
network traffic. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the metrics may
be employed to evaluate if the centralized security protocol
network traffic conforms to network security policies enforced or
monitored by the NMC.
[0273] Note, in some embodiments, transport protocols, application
protocols, or the like, may employ their own encryption that is not
being considered here. In this context unencrypted network traffic
is network traffic that is not encrypted using the centralized
security protocol. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate
that there may be other/additional encryption protocols that may be
involved at different levels of the communications or for different
purposes. Accordingly, it may be assumed that the NMCs may be
configured to those handle other encryption protocols separate from
the innovations described herein for centralized security
protocols.
[0274] At block 1206, in one or more of the various embodiments,
optionally, the NMC may be arranged to collect one or more keys or
secrets included the monitored network traffic.
[0275] In one or more of the various embodiments, as described
above, various network exchanges between client, servers, or
authentication control servers may include keys or key material
associated with one or more of authentication keys, client keys,
session keys, service keys, or the like.
[0276] In one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs may be
arranged to integrate with one or more agents that may be deployed
on one or more clients or servers. As described above, in some
embodiments, agents may be integrated with local applications or
local system libraries that enable them to capture various
information associated with centralized security protocols. In some
embodiments, this may include one or more keys or key material.
[0277] Likewise, in some embodiments, NMCs may be configured by
distributing one or more keys or key material before monitoring
centralized security protocol network traffic. In some embodiments,
this may be accomplished automatically if an NMC is configured to
integrate with authentication control servers. Also, in some
embodiments, NMCs may be configured with keys or key material
manually by users or other services. In one or more of the various
embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to be associated the keys or key
material with clients, servers, applications, authentication
control servers, or the like.
[0278] For example, in some embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to
associate identifying information of clients, servers, users, or
the like, with the provided keys or key material. In some
embodiments, this information may include, network addresses,
names/labels, or the like.
[0279] Note, this block may be considered optional because in some
cases or in some embodiments the NMC may be disabled from
collecting one or more keys or one or more secrets because of the
absence necessary information or for policy reasons. Likewise, in
some cases, the NMC may have already collected some or all of keys
or secrets.
[0280] At decision block 1208, in one or more of the various
embodiments, if the NMC can decrypt some or all of the traffic
associated with the centralized security protocol, control may flow
to block 1210; otherwise, control may flow to block 1214. In one or
more of the various embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to decrypt
different portions of the centralized security protocol network
traffic depending on the keys that may be available.
[0281] Accordingly, in some embodiments, NMCs may be disabled from
decrypting some or all portions of the centralized security
protocol depending on the keys that may be available to the NMCs.
Likewise, in some embodiments, the ability to decrypt a portion of
the centralized security protocol network traffic may depend on
which portion of the centralized security protocol network traffic
is being considered.
[0282] At block 1210, in one or more of the various embodiments,
optionally, the NMC may be arranged to collect one or more
cryptographic keys or other secret information that may be included
in the network traffic. In some embodiments, NMCs may be arranged
to extract one or more additional keys from the decrypted network
traffic. For example, in one or more of the various embodiments, an
NMC that has access to a client key may employ it to obtain a
session key that may be provided by an authentication control
server.
[0283] Also, in one or more of the various embodiments, NMCs may be
arranged to employ protocol information to identify different types
of centralized security protocol messages (requests or responses)
that are decrypt-able by the NMC. Accordingly, in some embodiments,
NMCs may determine if a portion of the centralized security
protocol network traffic may be decrypted using the keys or key
material available to the NMC.
[0284] Further, in some embodiments, NMCs may collect various
values or metrics based on the decrypted portions of the
centralized security protocol network traffic, including,
usernames/IDs, server names/IDs, service names/IDs, timestamps, key
expiration values, key expiration time requests, or the like. In
some embodiments, the particular value or metrics may depend on the
particular centralized security protocol. Also, in some
embodiments, the values or metrics may depend on which optional or
extra fields/payloads that may be included in the centralized
security protocol network traffic.
[0285] Note, this block may be considered optional because in some
cases or in some embodiments the NMC may be disabled from
collecting one or more keys or one or more secrets because of the
absence necessary information or for policy reasons. Likewise, in
some cases, the NMC may have already collected some or all of keys
or secrets.
[0286] At block 1212, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the NMC may be arranged to collect other metrics/information
associated with the network traffic. In one or more of the various
embodiments, NMCs may be arranged to employ rules, patterns,
filters, or the like, provided via configuration information to
determine the information or metrics that may be collected.
[0287] At block 1214, in one or more of the various embodiments,
the NMC may be arranged to associate some or all of the collected
information with clients, servers, services, or the like, that may
be associated with the centralized security protocol network
traffic.
[0288] Next, in one or more of the various embodiments, control may
be returned to a calling process.
[0289] It will be understood that each block of the flowchart
illustration, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart
illustration, can be implemented by computer program instructions.
These program instructions may be provided to a processor to
produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute on the
processor, create means for implementing the actions specified in
the flowchart block or blocks. The computer program instructions
may be executed by a processor to cause a series of operational
steps to be performed by the processor to produce a
computer-implemented process such that the instructions, which
execute on the processor to provide steps for implementing the
actions specified in the flowchart block or blocks. The computer
program instructions may also cause at least some of the
operational steps shown in the blocks of the flowchart to be
performed in parallel. Moreover, some of the steps may also be
performed across more than one processor, such as might arise in a
multi-processor computer system. In addition, one or more blocks or
combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustration may also be
performed concurrently with other blocks or combinations of blocks,
or even in a different sequence than illustrated without departing
from the scope or spirit of the invention.
[0290] Accordingly, blocks of the flowchart illustration support
combinations of means for performing the specified actions,
combinations of steps for performing the specified actions and
program instruction means for performing the specified actions. It
will also be understood that each block of the flowchart
illustration, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart
illustration, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-based
systems, which perform the specified actions or steps, or
combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.
The foregoing example should not be construed as limiting or
exhaustive, but rather, an illustrative use case to show an
implementation of at least one of the various embodiments of the
invention.
[0291] Further, in one or more embodiments (not shown in the
figures), the logic in the illustrative flowcharts may be executed
using an embedded logic hardware device instead of a CPU, such as,
an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), Field
Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), Programmable Array Logic (PAL), or
the like, or combination thereof. The embedded logic hardware
device may directly execute its embedded logic to perform actions.
In one or more embodiments, a microcontroller may be arranged to
directly execute its own embedded logic to perform actions and
access its own internal memory and its own external Input and
Output Interfaces (e.g., hardware pins or wireless transceivers) to
perform actions, such as System On a Chip (SOC), or the like.
* * * * *